1,1       1   • 

/,  £(s*^<S. 


A  MEMORIAL  SKETCH 


OF 


ROLAND  GREENE  USHER 

1823-1895 


BY  HIS   SON 


EDWARD   PRESTON   USHER 


TO   WHICH   IS   ADDED 


A   GENEALOGY   OF   THE   USHER   FAMILY   IN   NEW 
ENGLAND  FROM   1638  TO   1895 


PRIVATELY  PRINTED  FOR  THE  FAMILY 
l895 


BOSTON  : 

PRESS  OF  NATHAN  SAWYER  *  SON, 
70  STATE  STREET. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 

EARLY  HISTORY  OF  His  FAMILY  IN  NEW  ENGLAND. 

—  His  ANCESTRY 5 

CHAPTER  II. 
His  RECORD  AS  A  PRIVATE  CITIZEN 14 

CHAPTER  III. 
His  RECORD  IN  THE  SERVICE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES,       23 

CHAPTER  IV. 
His  RECORD  IN  THE  SERVICE  OF  THE  CITY  OF  LYNN,       29 

CHAPTER  V. 
His    RECORD    IN   THE    SERVICE   OF   THE    STATE    OF 

MASSACHUSETTS 35 

CHAPTER  VI. 
His  DEATH. — FUNERAL  SERMON.  —  RESOLUTIONS     .      61 

APPENDIX. 

GENEALOGY  OF  THE  USHER  FAMILY  IN  NEW  ENGLAND, 

1638-1895 79 

WILL  OF  ROBERT  USHER 139 

WILL  OF  HEZEKIAH  USHER,  SR 143 

WILL  OF  HEZEKIAH  USHER,  JR 149 

INDEX 157 


ROLAND  GREENE   USHER. 


CHAPTER   I. 

EARLY  HISTORY  OF  HIS  FAMILY  IN  NEW  ENGLAND. 
—  HIS  ANCESTRY. 


T^HE  Usher  family,  in  this  country,  was  founded 
by  two  brothers,  Hezekiah  and  Robert,  who 
came  to  Massachusetts  prior  to  1638.  Hezekiah 
became  the  more  prominent.  He  was  made  free- 
man at  Cambridge,  as  appears  of  record,  March  14, 
1638.  His  residence  in  Cambridge  in  1642  was 
on  the  north-east  corner  of  Dunster  and  Winthrop 
Streets,  a  few  steps  from  what  is  now  Harvard 
Square.  On  the  records  of  the  First  Church  in 
Cambridge  it  appears  that  in  1639,  among  the 
members  in  full  standing,  were  Hezekiah  Usher, 
Mistress  Frances  Usher,  Mistress  Elizabeth  Usher, 
and  Mistress  Mary  Usher.  In  1645,  he  removed 
to  Boston.  He  was  a  merchant,  his  energies  run- 
ning in  many  varied  directions  of  trading  enter- 
prise. He  was  the  first  bookseller  and  publisher 
in  English  America.  The  first  books  published  in 


6  MEMORIAL    SKETCH. 

this  country  were  printed  for  him.  Many  books 
exist  bearing  his  imprint  as  publisher,  running 
from  1652  to  1665.  As  late  as  1664,  he  was  the 
only  bookseller  in  New  England.  He  was  agent 
for  the  English  corporation  for  propagating  the 
gospel  in  these  parts,  and  superintended,  during 
1660  to  1663,  the  printing  of  the  Bible  in  the 
Indian  language.  In  September,  1661,  the  Com- 
missioners, by  formal  vote,  thanked  him  for  pro- 
viding material  and  furthering  this  printing  of  the 
Bible,  and  desired  him  to  continue  his  good 
offices. 

Hezekiah  was  one  of  the  original  founders  of 
the  Old  South  Church  in  1669.  He  was  Deputy 
or  Representative  for  Billerica  in  the  General 
Court  during  1671,  1672,  and  1673.  He  was  Con- 
stable in  1651,  and  was  one  of  the  Selectmen  in 
Boston  from  1659  to  l^7^-  In  1661,  a  committee 
of  three  was  appointed  by  the  General  Court  to 
raise  money  for  the  use  of  the  Colony,  "  and  what 
they  do  agree  upon  in  relation  thereto,  this  Court 
doth  hereby  confirm  and  allow,  and  orders  the 
Treasurer  to  engage  for  the  same."  Hezekiah 
Usher  was  one  of  the  three. 

In  1664,  he  held  the  office  of  Ensign  in  the 
Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery  Company,  of 
which  he  had  been  a  member  since  1638.  He 
was,  indeed,  one  of  the  earliest  members. 


ROLAND   GREENE  USHER.  7 

In  1665,  a  present  of  commodities  to  the  value 
of  five  hundred  pounds  was  ordered  by  the  Gen- 
eral Court  to  be  got  ready  and  sent  to  the  King. 
Hezekiah  Usher  was  a  member  of  the  committee 
appointed  to  carry  out  the  scheme.  This  gift  was 
to  be  an  exhibit  of  the  colonial  commodities  and 
products,  designed  to  show  the  progress  and  enter- 
prise of  the  people. 

In  1673,  he  was  requested,  by  vote  of  the 
General  Court,  to  purchase,  by  his  correspondent 
in  England,  five  hundred  new  snap  lances  or  fire- 
lock muskets  for  the  use  of  the  Colony. 

He  died  May  14,  1676;  his  estate,  appraised  at 
sixteen  thousand  pounds,  being  said  to  be  one  of 
the  largest  that  was  passed  through  the  Probate 
Courts  in  Boston  during  the  seventeenth  century. 
I  find  him  repeatedly  referred  to  as  one  of  the 
chief  merchants  of  his  day.  He  lived  on  the 
northern  side  of  what  is  now  called  State  Street, 
and  opposite  what  was  then  the  market-place,  but 
is  now  occupied  by  the  Old  State  House. 

Increase  Mather,  in  his  diary  under  date  of  May 
14,  1676,  said:  "Mr.  Usher  died,  a  sad  stroke  to 
the  town  and  country,  God  having  blessed  him 
with  a  good  estate  and  a  public  spirit,  willing  to 
do  good  generally.  He  was  very  helpful  at  this 
time  in  lending  money  to  carry  on  the  war  against 
the  Indians.  He  was  a  special  friend  to  ministers, 


8  MEMORIAL   SKETCH. 

who  weekly  met  at  his  house.  Alas!  that  such 
men  should  be  taken  away  when  there  is  most 
need  of  them." 

He  had  a  son  Hezekiah,  who  was  born  June  6, 
1639.  He  joined  the  Ancient  and  Honorable 
Artillery  Company  in  1665.  He  married,  in 
November,  1676,  the  widow  of  Leonard  Hoar, 
President  of  Harvard  College.  The  alliance  was 
not  happy,  and  in  1687  she  left  him  and  went 
to  England,  not  returning  until  after  his  death. 
She  was  the  daughter  of  John  Lisle  and  Lady 
Alicia  Lisle.  Her  father  was  one  of  the  Regi- 
cides. Her  mother  was  executed  at  Winchester 
by  the  infamous  Jeffreys,  September  2,  1685,  in  the 
"  Bloody  Circuit,"  after  the  Monmouth  Rebellion. 
After  Madam  Usher,  as  she  was  termed,  returned 
to  Boston,  she  lived  in  style  near  Turn  Again 
Alley,  which  is  now  Hamilton  Place. 

August  28,  1682,  Mine  Islands,  near  Dunstable 
(now  called  Nashua),  were  laid  out  to  Hezekiah 
Usher,  Jr.  They  were  supposed  to  be  rich  in 
minerals.  He  seems  to  have  been  of  a  speculative 
turn,  and  to  have  imbibed  the  ideas  then  prevalent 
among  the  wealthier  class  as  to  the  great  mineral 
resources  of  New  England. 

"  Mine  Islands "  were  supposed  to  be  an  El 
Dorado.  He  worked  the  mines  for  a  while,  but 
finally  had  to  give  it  up.  These  islands  were 


ROLAND   GREENE   USHER.  9 

familiarly  called  "  The  Mines  "  for  half  a  century. 
He  did  find  lead  and  iron  there  in  small  quantities. 

In  May,  1685,  Mason,  the  proprietor  of  New 
Hampshire,  farmed  out  to  Hezekiah  Usher,  Jr., 
and  his  heirs,  all  the  mines  and  mineral  ores 
within  the  limits  of  New  Hampshire  for  the  term 
of  one  thousand  years,  reserving  to  himself  one- 
fourth  of  the  royal  ores  and  one-seventeenth  of  all 
the  baser  metals. 

In  1685,  Hezekiah  was  also  hunting  after  mines 
at  Deerfield  in  Massachusetts,  as  appears  by  the 
records. 

In  June,  1685,  Hezekiah  petitioned  the  General 
Court  for  a  grant  of  one  thousand  acres  of  land 
near  Miller's  River,  above  Deerfield,  "  as  help  and 
encouragement  in  searching  for  to  find  out  metals." 
This  was  conditionally  granted. 

In  1692,  Hezekiah  Usher,  Jr.,  was  accused  of 
witchcraft,  and  ordered  to  be  confined  in  the 
common  prison;  but  the  sentence  was  never 
carried  out,  for,  it  is  said,  that  "  on  account  of 
the  goodness  of  his  character,  he  was  allowed  to 
secrete  himself  in  the  house  of  a  friend,  and  after- 
wards to  escape  till  the  madness  of  the  times 
subsided." 

It  is  gravely  recorded  that  Hezekiah  Usher,  Jr., 
carried  one  spur  at  the  funeral  of  Elder  Thomas 
Leverett  in  1678,  which  evidently  was  considered 


io  MEMORIAL   SKETCH. 

as  a  mark  of  distinction..  This  Hezekiah  died  at 
Lynn,  July  n,  1697.  The  Artillery  Company 
came  from  Boston,  and  escorted  his  body  thither 
for  burial. 

Another  son  of  Hezekiah,  Sen.,  was  John,  who 
was  born  February  17,  1648.  His  second  wife 
was  the  daughter  of  Samuel  Allen,  Governor  and 
one  of  the  proprietors  of  New  Hampshire. 

John  took  up  the  book-publishing  interests  of 
his  father,  and  there  are  many  books  bearing  his 
imprint.  In  1671,  the  General  Court  ordered  an 
edition  of  the  revised  laws.  John  Usher  under- 
took this  on  his  own  account,  it  having  always 
hitherto  been  done  at  the  expense  of  the  Colony. 
This  produced  the  first  instance  on  this  continent 
of  the  security  of  copyright  by  law.  The  right 
was  granted  May,  1672,  and  was  further  secured 
in  May,  1673.  It  was  to  last  for  seven  years. 

John  Dunton,  an  Englishman  who  resided  some 
time  in  Boston,  and  published  a  book  about  its 
condition  in  1686,  thus  referred  to  John  Usher: 
"  This  trader  makes  the  best  figure  in  Boston. 
He  is  very  rich,  adventures  much  to  sea,  but  has 
got  his  estate  by  book-selling."  Dunton  says  that 
John  Usher  was  then  considered  to  be  worth 
twenty  thousand  pounds. 

He  joined  the  Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery 
Company  in  1673,  being  the  same  year  that  he 


ROLAND   GREENE   USHER.  n 

was  admitted  as  freeman,  on  May  7th.     He  after- 
wards became  colonel. 

In  1676,  he  was  appointed  by  the  General  Court 
one  of  the  committee  "for  ye  army  for  auditing 
of  ye  soldiers'  debentures."  He  was  also,  in  1679, 
after  a  great  fire  in  Boston,  made  in  town  meeting 
one  of  a  committee  to  consider  the  subject  of 
safety  from  fire  and  the  prevention  of  fires.  He 
was  in  1683  appointed  by  the  General  Court  as 
Quartermaster  of  "  ye  troope  of  horse." 

He  was  employed  by  Massachusetts  to  negotiate 
with  the  heirs  of  Sir  Ferdinand  Gorges  for  the 
purchase  of  the  Province  of  Maine.  King  Charles 
the  Second  was  intending  to  purchase  this  as  an 
endowment  for  the  Duke  of  Monmouth,  and  was 
in  treaty  for  it  at  the  time. 

Notwithstanding  this,  John  Usher  successfully 
played  his  part,  and  the  land  was  deeded  to  him 
May  6,  1677.  The  grantors  "covenanted  that  the 
said  Usher  should  stand  seized  of  an  absolute, 
perfect,  and  independent  estate  of  and  in  the  said 
County  Palatine."  He  paid  twelve  hundred  and 
fifty  pounds  therefor. 

In  May,  1686,  he  became  one  of  the  Councillors 
of  Joseph  Dudley,  who  then  assumed  the  office  of 
President  of  New  England  under  special  commis- 
sion. This  lasted  only  until  December  20,  1686, 
when  Sir  Edmund  Andros  appeared  as  Governor 


12  MEMORIAL    SKETCH. 

of  New  England,  continuing  as  such  until  April, 
1689,  when  deposed  by  revolutionary  proceedings 
on  the  part  of  the  people.  Under  this  Andros 
administration  John  Usher  was  one  of  the  Council- 
lors, and  was  also  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Pleas 
and  Sessions  and  Treasurer  and  Receiver-General. 
This  made  him  very  unpopular  in  Boston.  It 
probably  rendered  it  expedient  for  him  to  leave 
Massachusetts,  for  we  find  that  he  went  to  New 
Hampshire,  where  he  was  Lieutenant-Governor 
and  Commander-in-Chief  from  1692  until  1698, 
and  also  from  1702  until  1715.  He  exercised  his 
power  in  an  arbitrary  manner  not  satisfactory  to 
the  people,  being  pompous  and  overbearing. 

In  1715,  he  returned  to  Massachusetts  and 
occupied  his  large  estate  at  Medford,  where  he 
died  September  25,  1726.  His  widow  sold  this 
estate,  which  embraced  over  five  hundred  acres, 
to  Colonel  Royal,  December  26,  1732,  for  ten 
thousand  three  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  In 
August,  1723,  he  entertained  a  party  of  sixty 
Mohawk  Indians,  who  made  a  visit  to  Boston. 

Robert  Usher,  the  brother  of  Hezekiah,  soon 
went  to  the  Connecticut  Colony.  He  was  admitted 
freeman  at  New  Haven,  July  i,  1644.  He  removed 
to  Stamford,  where  he  resided  until  his  death.  He 
was  the  executor  of  the  will  of  Jeremy  Jaggers,  a 
very  prominent  man,  who  left  an  estate  of  four 


ROLAND   GREENE   USHER.  13 

hundred  and  seventy-two  pounds,  which  was  then 
regarded  as  very  large.  Robert  married  the  widow 
of  Jaggers,  May  13,  1659. 

Robert  was  Constable  in  1662,  Representative 
in  1665  and  1667,  and  Selectman  in  1668.  He 
died  October,  1669,  leaving  a  good  estate.  In  his 
will  he  desired  his  brother  Hezekiah  to  bring  up 
his  two  children,  Robert  and  Elizabeth.  Now, 
Hezekiah  was  one  of  the  original  proprietors  of 
Dunstable  in  New  Hampshire  (now  called  Nashua), 
and  it  was  in  this  place  that  the  family  of  Robert 
reappears  after  we  lose  sight  of  it  at  Stamford. 

Among  the  first  settlers  of  Dunstable  we  find 
this  son  Robert  Usher3  and  Jonathan  Tyng,  who 
married  Sarah  Usher,  daughter  of  Hezekiah,1  her 
son  William,  born  in  April,  1679,  being  the  first 
person  whose  birth  was  recorded  at  Dunstable. 
We  also  find  John  Sollendine,  who  married  Eliza- 
beth, the  sister  of  Robert  Usher,2  this  being  the 
first  marriage  recorded  in  Dunstable.  We  also  find 
John  Blanchard,  whose  daughter  Sarah  became 
the  wife  of  Robert  Usher.3  Sollendine  was  the 
designer  and  builder  of  the  first  church  erected, 
and  also  of  the  first  bridge.  Hezekiah  Usher,  Jr., 
was  also  there  engaged  in  his  mining  enterprises. 

I  have  added  in  an  appendix  such  genealogical 
facts  as  can  be  gathered  with  regard  to  the  family. 


I4  MEMORIAL    SKETCH. 


CHAPTER   II. 

HIS  RECORD  AS  A  PRIVATE  CITIZEN. 

DOLAND  GREENE  USHER  was  born  in 
^  Medford,  Mass.,  January  6,  1823,  and  con- 
tinued to  live  there  until  he  was  ten  years  of  age, 
when  he  removed  to  Lynn  along  with  his  brother 
James,  who  was  then  nineteen  years  of  age,  and 
his  brother  Leonard,  who  was  then  sixteen. 
These  boys  turned  their  steps  to  Lynn,  seeking 
an  opportunity  to  earn  a  living.  James,  of  course, 
was  the  leader,  and  he  established  a  small  bakery, 
in  running  which  he  was  assisted  by  the  others. 
Without  any  capital  or  experience  or  knowledge 
of  the  world,  they  here,  in  the  humblest  way, 
began  to  support  themselves.  Roland  was  given 
some  chances  at  school,  but  his  education  was 
extremely  slight,  so  far  as  the  schoolroom  was 
concerned.  On  the  abandonment  of  this  bakery 
enterprise,  some  years  later,  Roland  was  sent  to 
Londonderry,  N.H.,  where  for  a  couple  of  years 
he  lived  with  his  sister  Lydia. 

Returning  to  Lynn,  he  learned  the  morocco- 
dresser's  trade,  as  an  apprentice  to  Mr.  John 
Lovejoy.  He  worked  at  this  for  seven  years. 


ROLAND  GREENE   USHER.  15 

His  health  was  very  poor.  Tall,  slender,  and 
delicate,  he  was  considered  as  having  very  little 
chance  to  live  more  than  a  few  years. 

On  June  5,  1844,  he  married  Caroline  M.  Mudge. 
To  this  event,  in  all  probability,  he  really  owed 
his  subsequent  restoration  to  health  and  strength, 
which  then  continued  unimpaired  for  fifty  years. 
The  improvement  in  all  his  surroundings,  her 
constant  watchfulness  day  by  day  over  his  health, 
the  better  and  more  nourishing  diet,  the  more 
delicately  prepared  food,  the  sheltering  protection 
of  a  quiet  little  home,  the  ministrations  of  a  loving 
wife, — these,  doubtless,  were  his  salvation.  It  was 
his  own  opinion  that  if  he  had  not  married  when 
he  did,  and  had  not  secured  the  devoted  and 
helpful  wife  that  my  mother  proved  to  be  to  him, 
he  would  not  have  lived  to  be  twenty-four  years 
of  age.  , 

When  he  married,  and  had  furnished  his  few 
rooms  on  Church  Street,  and  laid  in  his  stock  of 
provisions,  he  was  just  one  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  in  debt.  There  was,  it  may  be  said,  not 
much  worldly  prudence  in  this  step.  He  was  but 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  without  any  money  and 
without  any  assured  source  of  income,  with  poor 
health,  and  in  debt.  There  were,  however,  faith  and 
hope  and  love.  There  were,  too,  in  him  an  integrity, 
sincerity,  and  earnestness  of  purpose  which  won 


16  MEMORIAL  SKETCH. 

the  respect  and  confidence  of  others.  This  was 
all  his  capital,  all  his  stock  in  trade;  but  it  proved 
to  be  sufficient  for  him  and  for  his  for  half  a 
century. 

His  wife,  Caroline  Matilda  Mudge,  was  born  in 
Lynn,  December  22,  1821.  She  was  the  daughter 
of  Daniel  Lee  Mudge.  Her  descent  is  from 

(1)  Thomas    Mudge,  who    came  to  this  country 
from  England  about  1650,  and  settled  at  Maiden. 
He   was    born    in    1624.      Thomas    had    a    son, 

(2)  John,  who  was  born  at  Maiden  in  1654,  and 
died  October  29,  1733.     He  married  Ruth  Burditt, 
who  was  born  in  1666,  and  died  October  17,  1733. 
He  was  a  farmer  and   tanner,  and  was  a  soldier 
in  King  Philip's  war.     He  had  a  son,  (3)  John, 
who  was  also  a  farmer,  being   born   in   Maiden, 
November  21,  1686.     He  died  November  26,  1762, 
his  wife   dying  December  ist  of  the   same  year. 
He  had  a  son,  (4)  John,  who  was  born  in  Maiden, 
December  30,  1713,  and  who  was  also  a  farmer. 
He  moved  to   Lynnfield  in  1748,  where  he  died 
November  26,  1762,  leaving  a  son,  (5)  Enoch,  who 
was  born  in  Lynnfield,  August  i,  1754.     He  was 
a  farmer  and  shoe  manufacturer,  was  one  of  the 
earliest    Methodists,   and    was    a    soldier    in    the 
Revolution,   being   at   the    Concord   fight    and    at 
Ticonderoga.     He  died  at  Lynn,  January  30,  1832. 
He  married  Lydia  Ingalls,  January  6,  1773.     She 


ROLAND    GREENE   USHER.  17 

was  the  daughter  of  John  and  Abigail  Ingalls,  was 
born  May  22,  1756,  and  died  April  25,  1833.  She 
was  the  granddaughter  of  Edmund  Ingalls,  one  of 
the  first  settlers  in  Lynn,  he  having  come  there 
in  1629.  Enoch  had  a  son,  (6)  Daniel  Lee,  who 
was  born  October  i,  1793,  and  died  December  3, 
1872.  He  married  Mary  Barry,  June  4,  1815.  She 
was  the  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Mary  Barry,  was 
born  August  14,  1795,  and  died  September  21, 
1831.  Daniel  Lee  Mudge  was  a  shoe  manufac- 
turer, and  at  one  time  had  a  good  deal  of  property, 
and  did  a  very  large  business.  He  built,  in  1820, 
for  his  residence  the  first  brick  dwelling-house 
ever  erected  in  Lynn.  It  was  on  the  corner  of 
North  Common  and  Baker  Streets,  and  is  still 
standing. 

In  1847,  my  father  went  into  business  on  his 
own  account  as  a  retail  dealer  in  ready-made 
clothing.  At  that  time  this  was  considered  a 
novel  undertaking,  his  store  being  one  of  the  first 
of  its  kind  in  Lynn.  To  be  exact,  it  was  the 
second  store  where  such  goods  were  offered  for 
sale,  but  the  first  store  exclusively  devoted  to  that 
branch  of  trade.  This  start  was  made,  of  course, 
in  a  small  way,  and  on  borrowed  capital;  but  his 
patience  and  close  attention  to  his  business  brought 
success,  and  in  1861  he  was  possessed  of  a  modest 
competency.  The  breaking-out  of  the  war  ended 


i8  MEMORIAL    SKETCH. 

his  career  as  a  business  man.     He  never  thereafter 
returned  to  the  store  or  to  commercial  affairs. 

In  his  earlier  years  he  was  much  interested  in 
Freemasonry  and  the  order  of  Odd  Fellows.  He 
was  initiated  as  a  member  of  Siloam  Lodge  of 
Odd  Fellows  in  Boston,  February  22,  1844,  and 
joined  Bay  State  Lodge  in  Lynn  on  the  evening 
of  its  institution.  Of  this  latter  Lodge  he  was, 
March  5,  1844,  elected  Conductor,  and  on  October 
4th  of  the  same  year  he  was  elected  Treasurer. 
On  January  12,  1847,  he  was  elected  Vice  Grand, 
and  on  July  6th  of  the  same  year,  Noble  Grand. 
When  the  corner-stone  of  Odd  Fellows'  Hall  in 
Lynn  was  laid,  June  12,  1871,  he  was  Chief  Mar- 
shal, the  event  being  celebrated  with  much  parade 
and  rejoicing. 

His  Masonic  record  is  as  follows:  in  Mount 
Carmel  Lodge,  in  Lynn,  he  was  passed  May  12, 
1856,  was  raised  October  27,  1856,  and  elected  to 
membership  April  5,  1858.  In  Sutton  Royal  Arch 
Chapter  he  received  the  Mark,  Past,  and  Most 
Excellent  Degrees  on  November  25,  1865,  and  the 
Royal  Arch  Degree,  January  25,  1866.  In  the 
Olivet  Commandery  he  received  the  Red  Cross 
Degree,  December  2,  1874,  and  the  Temple  and 
Malta  on  February  3,  1875. 

He  was  always  much  interested  in  good  music, 
and  in  March,  1869,  became  President  of  the  Lynn 


ROLAND    GREENE   USHER.  19 

Chorus  Class,  formed  to  take  part  in  the  Peace 
Jubilee  of  that  year.  This  led,  in  October,  1869, 
to  the  permanent  organization  of  the  Lynn  Choral 
Union,  of  which  he  was  then  elected  President, 
being  re-elected  in  1870  and  1871.  He  was  pas- 
sionately fond  of  all  oratorio  and  choral  music. 

In  1868,  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  National 
Republican  Convention  at  Chicago,  which  nomi- 
nated General  Grant  for  the  Presidency. 

My  father  visited  Europe  twice.  In  1875,  ^e 
made  a  short  trip,  leaving  home  June  23d,  and 
returning  on  August  25th.  In  July,  1879,  at  the 
close  of  his  term  as  United  States  Marshal,  he 
went  abroad  with  my  mother  and  sister,  returning 
with  them  in  August,  1880.  No  single  incident 
in  his  life  gave  him  such  pleasure  and  satisfaction 
as  he  derived  from  these  excursions  in  other 
lands. 

It  was  during  his  absence  on  his  second  trip 
to  Europe  that  the  corner-stone  of  St.  Stephen's 
Memorial  Church  in  Lynn  was  laid  in  May,  1880. 
There  was  always  in  him  a  vein  of  sentiment,  and 
this  led  him  to  conceive  the  idea  of  having  the 
Parish  of  St.  Margaret  in  Lynn,  England,  send  a 
stone  taken  from  their  very  ancient  structure  to 
be  inserted  into  one  of  the  walls  of  the  new 
St.  Stephen's  Church.  This  stone,  it  seemed  to 
him,  would  speak  from  the  remote  past,  and  be  a 


20  MEMORIAL    SKETCH. 

reminder  of  the  antiquity  of  that  historic  church 
to  whose  service  the  new  edifice  was  consecrated. 
It  would  be  a  stone  quarried,  fashioned,  and  built 
into  St.  Margaret's  three  centuries  and  a  half 
before  the  discovery  of  America.  It  would  be  a 
church  relic  antedating  Magna  Charta.  It  would 
come  three  thousand  miles  as  a  symbol  of  the 
unity  existing  between  the  oldest  parish  church 
edifice  in  Old  England  and  the  most  recent  parish 
church  edifice  of  New  England. 

With  this  in  mind,  he  visited  the  ancient 
English  borough  of  Lynn  Regis,  was  cordially 
received,  and  secured  the  relic  he  desired. 
When  this  reached  St.  Stephen's,  it  was  formally 
received.  Many  excellent  speeches  were  made, 
and  all  seemed  to  enter  fully  into  the  spirit  of 
the  occasion.  The  stone  was  set  in  the  church 
porch.  On  this  occasion  my  father  said :  — 

"  St.  Margaret's  Church,  in  King's  Lynn,  is,  as 
you  are  aware,  the  oldest  parish  church  now 
standing  in  England.  It  is  a  magnificent  old 
edifice,  running  back  in  its  history  to  the  begin- 
ning of  the  twelfth  century.  Through  all  these 
years,  through  the  successive  seed-time  and  harvest 
of  nearly  eight  hundred  seasons,  the  old  church 
has  stood  as  a  place  for  worship  for  the  people 
of  King's  Lynn.  A  block  of  stone  out  of  that 
old  church,  hewn,  fashioned,  and  placed  there  by 


ROLAND    GREENE   USHER.  21 

the  hands  of  Lynn  men,  at  the  time  when  Lynn 
rivalled  London  in  its  commercial  importance  and 
the  amount  paid  into  the  royal  exchequer,  a  block 
of  stone  out  of  the  oldest  parish  church  building 
in  England,  is  sent  by  that  church  to  be  placed  in 
the  new  St.  Stephen's  Memorial  Church  in  our 
own  good  city. 

"  It  comes  as  the  expression  of  the  interest  and 
good-will  of  the  people  of  St.  Margaret's,  as  a 
link  to  connect  our  Lynn  with  old  King's  Lynn 
in  England.  I  believe  in  the  use  of  all  such 
means  to  excite  and  keep  alive  kindly  feelings 
and  interest  between  England  and  America,  and, 
with  that  thought  in  my  mind,  I  assure  you,  I 
was  very  happy  to  be  the  bearer  of  this  offering. 
You  are  building  this  memorial  church  with  such 
solidity  and  architectural  skill  as  to  justify  us  in 
hoping  that  it  may  rival,  in  future  age  and  endur- 
ance, the  old  church  from  whose  people  comes 
this  memorial. 

"  It  is  fitting  and  suggestive,  therefore,  that  this 
stone,  bespeaking  the  antiquity  and  stability  of  the 
old  church  of  St.  Margaret's,  should  be  here  before 
us,  to  recall  to  our  minds  the  lesson  of  permanence 
and  usefulness  taught  by  the  contemplation  of  such 
a  venerable  edifice,  which  to-day  answers  for  all 
the  purposes  of  public  worship  as  it  has  for  nearly 
eight  hundred  years.  We  cannot  fail,  as  our  eyes 


22  MEMORIAL    SKETCH. 

read  the  words  of  this  inscription,  to  desire  and 
pray  that  the  record  for  the  ages  to  come  of  St. 
Stephen's  Memorial  Church  may  be  for  usefulness 
and  influence  equal  to  that  of  St.  Margaret's." 
The  following  resolutions  were  passed:  — 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  the  Rector,  Wardens,  and 
Vestrymen  of  St.  Stephen's  Parish  be,  and  hereby  are,  extended 
to  Colonel  R.  G.  Usher  for  the  interest  manifested  by  him,  in 
his  recent  visit  to  Europe,  in  aiding  to  obtain,  and  safely  con- 
veying to  this  place,  the  stone  from  St.  Margaret's  Church, 
Lynn  Regis,  England,  and  that  we  congratulate  him  and  his 
family  on  their  safe  return. 

He  was  afterwards  a  Warden  of  this  church  for 
four  years,  from  Easter,  1890,  until  Easter,  1894, 
when  he  declined  re-election  because  of  the  state 
of  his  health.  He  was  delegate  to  the  Diocesan 
Convention  in  1889  and  1890. 

His  earlier  religious  associations  were  with  the 
Methodists,  he  having  been  for  many  years  a 
member  of  the  Lynn  Common  Methodist  Church. 


ROLAND   GREENE   USHER.  23 


CHAPTER   III. 

HIS  RECORD  IN  THE  SERVICE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

the  I  ;th  of  April,  1861,  my  father  left  for 
Washington  with  the  "  Eighth  "  Regiment, 
being  on  the  staff  as  Paymaster.  On  June  ist  of 
that  year  he  received  from  President  Lincoln  a 
commission  as  Paymaster  in  the  regular  army, 
with  the  rank  of  Major.  In  this  capacity  he 
served  until  the  close  of  the  war,  being  mustered 
out  February  15,  1866,  when  he  was  bre vetted 
Lieutenant-Colonel. 

This  was  the  most  trying  and  anxious  period 
of  his  life.  The  responsibilities  were  great;  the 
duties  were  arduous;  while  the  dangers  sur- 
rounding such  an  officer,  amid  the  excitement 
and  confusion  of  army  life,  were  very  consider- 
able. The  difficulty  of  transporting  with  safety 
several  millions  of  dollars,  all  in  small  bills,  the 
complexity  surrounding  all  the  accounts,  the  volu- 
minous orders  received  every  week  from  the 
department  at  Washington  relative  to  rates  of 
pay,  allowances,  commutations,  formalities  of  pay- 
ments and  receipts,  and  other  technical  features 
of  the  accounts,  rendered  the  position  one  that 


24  MEMORIAL    SKETCH. 

taxed  him  to  the  utmost.  He  was  under  constant 
tension. 

He  was  appointed  Paymaster-in-Chief  of  the 
famous  Department  of  the  Gulf,  entering  New 
Orleans  with  General  Butler,  and  remaining  with 
him  through  all  his  remarkable  administration  of 
that  city.  He  was  also  made  Paymaster-in-Chief 
of  the  Department  of  Annapolis,  and  later  of  the 
Department  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina.  He 
thus  had  all  the  time  the  supervision  and  direc- 
tion of  from  twenty  to  thirty  paymasters,  which 
required  rare  executive  ability,  coupled  with  tact 
and  sound  judgment.  This  was  his  period  of 
mental  development  and  discipline.  It  was  his 
education.  When  he  returned  to  Lynn,  in  1865, 
he  was  intellectually  a  new  man,  strengthened  and 
cultivated  by  four  years  of  daily  contact  with  capa- 
ble men.  The  army  was  his  college,  and  from  it 
he  graduated  cum  laude.  He  had  thereafter  the 
instincts  and  the  outward  bearing  of  an  educated 
man.  This  he  never  took  from  books,  but  from 
contact  with  men  who  were  educated.  He  was 
never  a  great  reader  of  books,  but  he  was  a  great 
absorber  of  ideas  from  men  who  had  read  books. 
This  was  always  his  marked  characteristic. 

It  seems  a  singular  fact,  but  it  is  strictly  true, 
that  his  first  intimate  contact  with  cultivated  and 
bookish  men  was  when  he  entered  the  army;  and 


ROLAND  GREENE   USHER.  25 

it  was  his  good  fortune,  during  the  four  years 
of  his  service,  to  so  live  with  them  that  their 
mental  possessions  became,  in  a  certain  sense, 
largely  his. 

His  acquaintance  and  intimacy  with  General 
Butler  began  in  April,  1861,  and  continued 
through  the  war.  This,  from  the  first,  was  an 
intimacy  of  an  unusual  character.  They  soon 
became  confidential  friends,  and  remained  such 
for  life.  For  at  least  two  years  of  his  army 
service  he  was  constantly  relied  upon  by  General 
Butler  as  a  man  of  sound  opinion  and  good  judg- 
ment. This  was  chiefly  at  New  Orleans  and 
Fortress  Monroe.  He  was  called  into  counsel 
on  matters  of  grave  importance,  and  his  anxiety 
to  be  of  service  added  much  to  the  cares  which 
naturally  belonged  to  his  official  position. 

He  also  came  into  very  cordial  relations  with 
Admiral  Farragut.  At  one  time  the  Admiral 
called  on  him  and  asked  him  to  lend  two  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars,  to  be  used  in  paying  the 
sailors.  Of  course,  my  father  had  no  legal  right 
to  do  this,  and  he  naturally  declined.  He  had 
nearly  a  million  of  dollars  in  his  possession,  but 
it  was  in  his  hands  to  pay  the  soldiers,  and  for 
no  other  purpose.  The  Admiral  declared  that 
the  safety  of  the  whole  enterprise  in  the  Gulf 
depended  on  his  immediately  getting  this  money 


26  MEMORIAL    SKETCH. 

so  as  to  appease  the  sailors,  who  had  not  been 
paid  for  a  long  period.  He  declared  his  fear  of 
a  mutiny  if  their  claims  were  not  met  at  once. 
"  Besides,"  he  said,  "  the  sailors  know  you  are 
here.  They  believe  you  have  funds,  but  do  not 
know  how  much.  If  they  knew  you  had  what 
I  know  you  have  got,  I  do  not  think  that  I  could 
guarantee  you  the  safety  of  yourself  and  your 
funds.  I  throw  upon  you  the  responsibility  of 
this  matter  as  the  only  government  official  having 
funds  to  whom  I  can  apply  for  help."  My  father 
decided  to  accept  the  grave  responsibility,  and 
passed  over  two  hundred  thousand  dollars  on 
Farragut's  individual  receipt,  which  legally  was 
worthless  as  a  voucher.  The  Admiral  remarked, 
as  he  signed  it,  "There,  Major,  I  sign  that  receipt 
for  two  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  I  would 
sign  it  for  a  million  dollars,  but  I  would  not  sign 
it  for  five  thousand  dollars.  The  government 
knows  that  I  cannot  pay  two  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  and  it  would  never  try  to  make  me  do 
it;  but  if  it  were  five  thousand  dollars,  they 
might  try  it  on." 

This  money,  it  was  stipulated,  should  go  to  the 
men,  and  not  to  the  officers  in  any  part.  The 
affair  was  afterwards  duly  ratified  at  Washington; 
but  it  was,  nevertheless,  an  act  that  required 
courage  at  the  time. 


ROLAND   GREENE   USHER.  27 

The  following  letter  will  serve  to  show  how  his 
record  was  regarded  by  his  official  superiors :  — 

PAYMASTER-GENERAL'S  OFFICE. 

WAR  DEPARTMENT, 
WASHINGTON,  February  14,  1871. 

MAJOR-GENERAL  B.  F.  BUTLER. 

My  Dear  Sir,  —  In  reply  to  your  request  for  a  letter  from 
this  office,  indicating  the  official  record  of  Colonel  R.  G.  Usher 
during  the  time  he  served  as  an  officer  of  this  department,  it 
affords  me  pleasure  to  respond,  because  from  an  intimate  per- 
sonal knowledge  in  his  case  I  am  able  to  bear  emphatic  testi- 
mony to  the  value  and  excellence  of  his  services. 

Colonel  Usher  was  appointed  a  Paymaster  at  the  beginning 
of  the  war,  in  1861.  He  served  through  the  entire  war,  and 
retired  to  civil  life  on  his  own  application  for  discharge, 
February  16,  1866. 

That  he  was  an  active  and  faithful  officer  is  well  attested  by 
the  records  of  the  department ;  but  that  he  was  more,  —  an 
energetic,  intelligent,  and  reliable  officer  in  positions  of  unusual 
responsibility,  —  I  can,  of  my  personal  knowledge,  certify. 

During  his  term  of  service  he  disbursed  upwards  of  thirty- 
one  and  a  half  millions  of  the  public  money,  promptly,  faith- 
fully, and  satisfactorily  accounting  for  every  dollar  intrusted  to 
his  charge. 

His  conduct  and  bearing  won  the  confidence  and  esteem  of 
this  office,  and  caused  me  to  regret  that  his  own  interests  and 
inclinations  were  averse  to  a  permanent  continuance  in  this 
department. 

Very  respectfully, 

B.   W.   BRICE, 

Paymaster-  General. 


28  MEMORIAL    SKETCH. 

On  March  3,  1871,  my  father  was  appointed,  by 
President  Grant,  Marshal  of  the  United  States  for 
the  District  of  Massachusetts.  On  the  expiration 
of  his  term,  in  1875,  he  was  reappointed.  He 
thus  held  this  office  for  eight  years,  from  1871 
to  1879.  He  had  the  pleasure  of  knowing  that 
his  reappointment  was  in  part  due  to  very  cordial 
letters  in  commendation  of  his  administration  of 
the  office  sent  to  the  Department  of  Justice  by 
Justice  Clifford  of  the  Supreme  Court,  Judge 
Shepley  of  the  Circuit  Court,  and  Judge  Lowell 
of  the  District  Court. 


ROLAND    GREENE   USHER.  29 


CHAPTER   IV. 

HIS  RECORD  IN  THE   SERVICE  OF  THE  CITY  OF  LYNN. 

JV  Jl  Y   father   was    a    member   of   the    Common 
Council    of    Lynn    in   the   years    1852    and 
1853,  and  a  member  of  the   Board  of  Aldermen 
during  1859  and   1860. 

In  this  latter  capacity  he  did  much  to  overcome 
the  prejudice  that  then  existed  against  the  intro- 
duction of  street-cars,  which  ran  for  the  first 
time  in  Lynn  in  November  of  1860. 

In  February,  1860,  began  the  great  shoe- 
makers' strike.  This  was  the  great  sensation  of 
that  decade  in  Lynn,  and,  indeed,  attracted  much 
attention  throughout  the  country.  It  was  with- 
out any  precedent  in  that  community.  It  was 
marked  by  great  excitement,  and  aroused  fears 
that  were  really  groundless.  Day  after  day  bands 
of  workmen  paraded  the  streets  with  music  and 
banners,  and  March  i6th  a  procession  of  some 
five  thousand  shoe  operatives  paraded,  forming,  as 
they  marched  in  close  order,  a  line  of  a  half- 
mile  in  extent.  The  most  seditious  and  impas- 
sioned speeches  were  made  by  a  few  of  the 
leaders. 


30  MEMORIAL    SKETCH. 

By  the  illness  of  the  Mayor  the  duties  of  that 
office,  through  all  this  period,  fell  upon  my  father's 
shoulders;  and  it  was  then,  for  the  first  time  as 
acting  Mayor,  that  he  displayed  that  tact,  firmness, 
and  good  sound  sense  that  was  afterwards  shown 
on  so  many  occasions.  This  was  his  first  critical 
test,  and  the  manner  in  which  he  bore  himself 
won  the  commendation  of  men  of  all  shades  of 
opinion  outside  of  the  most  bitter  and  partisan 
leaders. 

On  his  return  from  the  war,  he  was  elected 
Mayor,  and  held  that  position  for  the  years  1866, 
1867,  and  1868.  This  was  the  period  of  transition 
in  the  history  of  the  city.  The  old  Lynn,  with  its 
village  and  town  ideas  and  traditions,  seemed  to 
disappear.  The  new  Lynn  appeared,  and  grew 
into  shape  and  comeliness  with  surprising  rapidity 
and  steadiness. 

In  1 86 1,  the  total  valuation  of  the  city  was 
$9,232,708.  This  remained  stationary  until  1865, 
when  it  rose  to  $10,819,006.  The  first  year  of 
his  administration  it  rose  to  $14,745,563,  the  next 
year  to  $15,335,967,  and  the  following  year  to 
$16,111,799,  an  increase  of  about  fifty  per  cent, 
between  the  day  he  accepted  his  office  and  the 
day  he  laid  down  its  cares.  Nothing  like  this 
relative  increase  has  been  seen  in  the  history  of 
the  city.  The  number  of  persons  liable  to  pay 


ROLAND   GREENE   USHER.  31 

a  poll  tax  rose    from    3,983   in    1865   to  6,048   in 
1868,  an  increase  of  fifty  per  cent. 

In  1865,  the  city  expenditures  were  $263,783. 
The  new  era  then  began.  In  1866,  the  expendi- 
tures were  $360,327;  the  next  year,  $453,107; 
but  in  the  following  year,  with  commendable 
caution,  were  brought  back  to  $369,176. 

This  new  policy  was  not  inaugurated  without  a 
vast  amount  of  doubt  and  fear  and  criticism  on 
the  part  of  timid  citizens.  The  good  judgment 
used  in  the  expenditure  did  much  to  remove 
these  doubts  and  fears,  and  the  results  thirty 
years  later  have  fully  justified  his  conception  of 
the  new  and  coming  Lynn.  This  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that,  by  a  steady  and  continuous  growth, 
the  valuation  of  Lynn  increased  each  year,  until, 
in  1893,  it  was  $49,969,309. 

During  his  administration  the  present  City  Hall 
was  built  and  dedicated.  From  the  use  of  a  small 
building  worth  but  a  few  thousand  dollars,  the  city 
leaped  to  a  beautiful  and  picturesque  structure, 
costing  more  than  three  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
This  single  thing  changed  all  existing  standards 
in  Lynn.  For  the  first  time,  in  connection  with 
this  enterprise,  the  idea  of  a  sinking  fund  was 
introduced  into  the  city  finances. 

A  complete  system  of  sewerage  was  planned, 
and  vigorous  work  begun  during  his  administra- 
tion. The  police  force  was  entirely  reorganized. 


32  MEMORIAL    SKETCH. 

For  the  city  of  Lynn  my  father  had  a  peculiar 
pride  and  affection.  He  loved  the  very  streets 
with  all  their  familiar  scenes  recalling  the  changes 
of  half  a  century,  all  of  which  he  had  personally 
witnessed.  He  always  had  an  abiding  faith  in 
its  future  growth  and  prosperity. 

In  1887,  on  the  seventy-fifth  anniversary  of  the 
organization  of  the  Lynn  Light  Infantry,  he  said, 
in  the  course  of  his  speech  at  the  banquet:  — 

"  At  the  celebration  of  the  one  hundredth  anni- 
versary of  the  Company,  in  1912,  you  will  have 
become  the  veterans  of  the  occasion.  You  will 
then  march  where  we  have  marched  to-day,  and 
will  then  in  turn  hand  over  your  trust  to  the  new 
blood  and  fresh  life  that  will  then  have  taken  up 
the  active  part  of  the  work.  You  will  find  old 
Lynn  here,  and,  as  I  believe,  prosperous  and  pro- 
gressive as  ever,  teeming  with  industry,  and  the 
home  of  more  than  seventy-five  thousand  thrifty 
and  enterprising  people.  You  will,  however,  find 
croakers  all  along  the  way.  We  have  had  them 
for  forty  years  past,  and  during  the  whole  time 
they  have  been  telling  us  with  a  deep  and  long- 
drawn  sigh,  and  with  great  solemnity  of  counte- 
nance, that  poor  old  Lynn  has  seen  its  best  days. 
Yet,  Mr.  Commander,  all  the  while  Lynn  has 
been  improving  in  education,  general  intelligence, 
enterprise,  energy,  skill,  and  wealth.  This  croak- 


ROLAND    GREENE   USHER.  33 

ing  about  the  future  of  Lynn  has  become  stale 
and  unprofitable.  Despite  all  that  can  be  said, 
Lynn  will  thrive.  The  next  generation  will  see 
a  development  greater  than  we  have  seen ;  and 
you,  young  men,  will  hand  down  to  your  children 
a  fairer  city  than  you  received  from  your  fathers." 

He  disclosed  the  same  feeling  of  pride  and  faith 
on  a  similar  occasion  in  1878,  on  the  sixty-sixth 
anniversary  of  the  Infantry.  In  the  course  of  his 
remarks  he  then  said :  — 

"And  as  for  old  Lynn,  she  never  looked  better. 
I  believe  that  each  one  of  us,  while  marching 
through  her  streets  to-day,  felt  a  thrill  of  satisfac- 
tion and  pride  as  we  saw  around  us  evidences 
of  the  solid  basis  upon  which  prosperity,  in  the 
long  run,  depends.  No  one,  I  think,  failed  to 
observe  the  marks  of  a  thrifty,  enterprising,  pro- 
gressive, industrious  people;  and  all  easily  realize 
how  these  qualities  have  been  necessary  for  the 
growth  of  such  a  city.  The  streets,  with  their 
beautiful  trees,  fine  dwellings,  churches,  factories, 
and  public  buildings,  are,  as  we  veterans  know, 
the  result  of  a  laborious  and  prudent  past.  These 
things  are  not  given  to  men  except  as  they  have 
earned  them  by  patient,  persevering  toil,  by  skil- 
ful planning,  by  activity  of  mind,  by  harmonious 
co-operation,  to  further  the  common  purpose  of 
all. 


34  MEMORIAL   SKETCH. 

"  I  think  we  may  draw  from  this  the  happiest 
inferences  as  to  the  future  well-being  of  Lynn,  and 
I  can  but  look  forward  and  see  the  prosperous 
city  of  the  future.  I  can  see,  as  my  mind  runs 
back  to  the  past,  how  the  streets  of  old  Lynn 
appeared  when,  as  a  youth  of  sixteen,  I  carried  a 
musket  and  followed  the  tap  of  the  drum  as  a 
member  of  the  Infantry  under  that  gallant  com- 
mander, Colonel  Munroe. 

"  The  same  qualities  in  its  citizens  that  have 
caused  the  wonderful  development  during  the  last 
forty  years  will  give  the  city  a  like  honorable 
record,  I  believe,  in  the  years  that  lie  before  us." 


ROLAND   GREENE   USHER.  35 


CHAPTER   V. 

HIS  RECORD  IN  THE  SERVICE  OF  THE   STATE  OF 
MASSACHUSETTS. 

\  /( Y  father  joined  the  Lynn  Light  Infantry  in 
*•*  *  1839.  He  was  always  a  great  enthusiast 
over  everything  connected  with  military  life.  He 
rose  to  the  rank  of  First  Lieutenant  on  May  21, 
1852,  and  became  Lieutenant-Colonel  of  the 
Eighth  Regiment,  April  2,  1855,  holding  that 
commission  until  April  8,  1857.  Upon  the  reor- 
ganization of  the  militia,  in  1866,  he  was  appointed 
a  member  of  the  Staff  of  Major-General  B.  F. 
Butler,  commanding,  and  held  that  position  until 
1876. 

He  was  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives in  1856,  but  did  not  get  much  recognition 
in  the  organization,  being  appointed  as  member 
of  only  one  committee,  and  that  the  relatively 
unimportant  one  "  on  the  militia."  His  day  had 
not  yet  come. 

In  1868,  he  was  a  member  of  Governor  Bullock's 
Executive  Council,  and  was  appointed  to  three 
committees;  viz.,  (a)  on  Pardons;  (£)  on  Harbors, 
Railroads,  and  Bridges;  (c)  on  Military  Affairs. 


36  MEMORIAL    SKETCH. 

In  1869,  he  was  a  member  of  Governor  Claflin's 
Executive  Council,  and  was  appointed  on  four 
committees;  viz.,  (a)  on  Pardons;  (b)  on  Harbors, 
Railroads,  and  Bridges;  (c)  on  Military  Affairs; 
(d)  on  Boston,  Hartford  and  Erie  Railroad. 

In  1870,  he  was  again  a  member  of  Governor 
Claflin's  Executive  Council.  The  work  he  had 
done,  and  the  value  of  his  services  were  recog- 
nized by  his  appointment  to  seven  committees; 
viz.,  (a)  on  Pardons;  (Z>)  on  Hoosac  Tunnel; 
(c)  on  Harbors,  Railroads,  and  Bridges;  (d}  on 
Public  Lands;  (e)  on  Military  Affairs;  (f)  on 
Boston,  Hartford  and  Erie  Railroad;  (^")  on  State 
Prison. 

Thus  he  was  called  upon  to  pass  in  committee 
on  nearly  every  measure  of  any  importance  that 
came  before  the  Council,  there  being  only  three 
minor  committees  of  which  he  was  not  a  member; 
viz.,  those  on  finance,  accounts,  and  warrants. 

This  attests,  perhaps,  as  well  as  anything  can, 
the  opinion  held  of  him  by  his  associates  as  a 
member  of  the  Council.  He  was,  it  will  be 
noticed,  a  member  of  the  Pardon  Committee  for 
the  three  years,  and  a  member  of  the  Prison 
Committee  for  his  last  year.  This  caused  him  to 
become  familiar  with  matters  pertaining  to  the 
prison,  and  led  the  way  to  his  appointment  as 
Warden  many  years  later.  As  a  member  of  the 


ROLAND   GREENE   USHER.  37 

committee  he  signed  the  famous  "Hoosac  Tunnel" 
contract,  and  in  the  conduct  of  that  enterprise  he 
took  the  liveliest  interest. 

His  best  service  to  the  Commonwealth  was 
rendered  as  Warden  of  the  State  Prison.  To  this 
office  he  was  appointed  by  Governor  Butler,  Feb- 
ruary 14,  1883.  The  circumstances  connected 
with  his  acceptance  of  this  trust  were  exceptional. 
At  the  Springfield  Convention  in  September,  1883, 
the  Governor  said,  referring  to  the  previous  con- 
dition of  the  prison:  "The  men  were  in  revolt, 
and  had  been  for  six  months.  We  were  told  that 
they  were  dangerous  unless  about  one  hundred  of 
them  were  kept  in  solitary  confinement,  or  chained 
up  by  the  hands  to  posts;  that  there  was  danger 
in  that  institution;  that  it  could  not  be  carried  on 
without  these  severe  measures,  and  my  predecessor 
had  instructed  the  Warden  to  do  what  he  pleased 
with  those  men." 

The  Warden  during  many  months  had  been 
hissed  and  hooted  and  treated  with  every  mark 
of  disrespect  whenever  he  had  shown  himself  to 
the  prisoners.  In  July,  1882,  occurred  the  so- 
called  rebellion,  in  subduing  which  more  than  one 
hundred  men  were  strung  up  by  the  wrists  for 
periods  of  from  two  and  a  half  to  eighty-two 
hours,  until  many  of  them  fainted  and  went  into 
convulsions.  Men  were  confined  in  dark  solitary 


38  MEMORIAL    SKETCH. 

for  periods  as  long  as  eighteen  days.  One  Patter- 
son was  kept  in  dark  solitary  for  five  months,  only 
leaving  that  darkness  and  solitude  for  the  lunatic 
asylum.  Governor  Long,  in  visiting  the  prison, 
was  hissed  and  hooted  by  the  men.  It  was  called 
the  "  reign  of  terror,"  nothing  like  it  having  ever 
been  seen  in  the  entire  history  of  the  institution. 
The  noise  made  by  the  prisoners  could  at  times 
be  heard  a  mile  away.  Concord  citizens  became 
alarmed.  There  had  been  a  great  lack  of  tact 
and  judgment  shown  in  handling  these  prisoners. 
The  Executive  Council  was,  upon  political  grounds, 
exceedingly  hostile  to  the  Governor;  but  the  case, 
was  so  plain  that  the  Warden  was  summarily 
removed,  and  the  rule  requiring  one  week  to 
elapse  between  nomination  and  confirmation  was 
suspended,  and  the  nomination  of  my  father  to  the 
place  unanimously  agreed  to. 

This  he  always  felt  was  a  great  compliment  on 
the  part  of  the  Council  under  all  the  circum- 
stances. His  acceptance  of  the  place  was  a 
courageous  act.  The  internal  troubles  of  the 
prison  were  bad  enough,  but  to  this  were  added 
the  dangers  arising  from  the  making  a  political 
issue  of  the  matter.  If  the  preceding  administra- 
tion had  been  any  less  vicious  than  it  was  easily 
discovered  to  have  been,  or  had  my  father's  admin- 
istration proved  less  successful  than  it  did,  this 
phase  would  have  led  to  great  embarrassment. 


ROLAND  GREENE   USHER.  39 

On  February  19,  1883,  the  Governor  and  the 
entire  Executive  Council  visited  the  prison,  and, 
after  a  tour  of  inspection,  went  to  the  chapel,  into 
which  filed  the  whole  body  of  prisoners,  —  more 
than  six  hundred  in  number.  The  Governor's 
speech  to  the  men  was  unique  and  characteristic. 
As  incidentally  he  expresses  therein  his  opinion 
of  my  father,  I  will  insert  a  portion  of  it. 

"  Prisoners,  you  are  here  because  it  has  been 
ascertained,  by  the  only  means  of  ascertaining  facts 
yet  made  known  to  the  ingenuity  of  man,  that  you 
have  broken  the  laws  of  the  Commonwealth,  and 
for  that  offence,  for  those  offences,  you  are  sen- 
tenced by  the  laws  of  the  Commonwealth  to  a 
certain  term  of  hard  labor  within  these  walls. 
That  is  the  sentence  that  the  law  imposes  upon 
you  for  your  offences,  —  no  other  and  no  greater, 
unless  you  commit  new  offences  while  here,  —  and 
you  have,  therefore,  your  treatment  in  your  own 
hands.  While  here  you  come  under  a  new  code 
of  laws  requiring  your  strict  obedience  to  estab- 
lished rules  and  the  orders  of  the  officers  set  over 
you.  These  rules  will  be  just;  those  orders  will 
be  just.  I  say  that  because  I  have  appointed,  by 
the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Council,  as  your 
Warden,  my  friend  of  twenty-five  years'  standing, 
my  old  staff  officer,  whom  I  know  to  be  a  just, 
equal-minded,  honest,  truthful  man,  in  whom  you 


40  MEMORIAL    SKETCH. 

and  everybody  else  who  has  to  deal  with  him  can 
implicitly  rely.  It  will  take  a  great  deal  to  con- 
vince me  that  he  is  wrong  in  anything  he  will 
do;  and,  when  you  know  him  half  or  a  quarter 
as  well  as  I  do,  it  will  take  you  just  as  long  to 
be  convinced  that  he  means  to  do  wrong  to  you. 
He  can  have  no  wish  or  desire  to  do  it.  The 
rules  that  he  will  make  will  be  for  your  comfort 
and  convenience  and  orderly  behavior  and  safe 
keeping.  Beyond  that  he  has  no  interest  in  you, 
except  that  which  shall  be  for  your  good,  and 
these  orders  (with  an  emphatic  wave  of  his  hand) 
must  be  obeyed.  Upon  that  there  must  be  neither 
doubt  nor  cavil.  You  trust  him,  give  him  your 
confidence,  —  that  is,  confide  in  his  justice  and  his 
intent  to  do  right, — and  relations  the  least  uncom- 
fortable that  can  exist  in  prison  between  officers 
and  prisoners  will  exist  here." 

With  this  send-off  the  new  administration  was 
begun. 

The  newspapers  of  the  State  were  very  cordial 
in  commendation  of  the  appointment. 

The  Boston  Journal  said  editorially:  "The 
appointment  of  Colonel  Usher  to  be  Warden  of 
the  State  Prison  insures  to  that  institution  the 
services  of  a  man  who  has  proved  himself  to  be 
a  man  of  business  capacity  in  every  public  posi- 
tion to  which  he  has  been  called.  The  office  of 


ROLAND    GREENE   USHER.  41 

United  States  Marshal  was  never  more  efficiently 
managed  than  during  the  years  in  which  he  held 
the  position.  He  will  undoubtedly  be  found  equal 
to  the  requirements  of  the  most  difficult  position 
to  which  he  has  ever  been  appointed." 

Governor  Butler  held  office  but  a  single  year. 
The  political  hostility  felt  towards  him  was  intense, 
and,  as  his  appointee,  my  father  was  more  or  less 
exposed  to  this  same  current  of  feeling.  He  was, 
however,  retained  by  Governor  Robinson,  from 
whom  he  received  very  cordial  and  hearty  support 
and  appreciation.  On  his  resignation  because  of 
failing  health,  June  30, 1886,  the  Governor  officially 
wrote  to  him,  expressing  "  the  high  appreciation  of 
the  people  of  the  Commonwealth  of  your  faithful 
and  efficient  services  in  charge  of  the  State  Prison." 

His  administration  extended  from  February  16, 
1883,  to  June  30,  1886,  during  which  period  he 
demonstrated  as  a  fact  that  a  man  may  govern  six 
hundred  desperate  men  successfully,  and  yet  be 
all  the  time  a  Christian  and  a  gentleman. 

On  his  leaving  the  prison,  a  testimonial  was 
presented  to  him  signed  by  five  hundred  and  two 
of  the  convicts.  This  was  handsomely  engrossed, 
surrounded  by  scroll-work  done  with  the  pen,  and 
enclosed  by  a  heavy  gilded  frame,  being  all  the 
work  of  the  prisoners,  even  to  the  making  and 
gilding  of  the  frame.  The  written  part  of  the 
testimonial  was  as  follows :  — 


42  MEMORIAL   SKETCH. 

MASSACHUSETTS  STATE  PRISON, 

BOSTON,  May  20,  1886. 
ROLAND  G.  USHER. 

Dear  Sir,  —  We  remember  with  pleasure  your  coming  to 
us  in  the  days  of  our  darkness  and  misery ;  that  for  three  years 
and  more  you  have  given  us  peace  and  quietness,  until,  indeed, 
there  comes  forcibly  to  mind  the  old  maxim,  "  Where  justice 
governs,  peace  and  quiet  reign."  We  feel  that  we  owe  to  you 
a  public  awakening  to  a  more  lenient  regard  for  the  welfare 
of  the  prisoner,  and  a  more  charitable  treatment  and  considera- 
tion of  such  as  have  erred  and  gone  astray. 

Deeply  regretting  that  your  connection  with  us  is  so  soon 
to  be  severed,  allow  us  to  add  that  you  will  be  long  and  grate- 
fully remembered,  and  in  your  departure  be  accompanied  by 
our  earnest  wish  and  active  hope  that  your  future  may  be  as 
satisfactory  to  yourself  as  your  administration  has  been  to  us. 
May  your  life  henceforth  be  one  of  peace  and  happiness. 

Trusting  that  this  memorial  will  afford  you  as  much  pleasure 
as  it  gives  us  to  present  it,  we  invoke  upon  you  the  choicest  of 
Heaven's  favors,  and  with  sorrow  wish  you  farewell. 

In  his  first  report  as  Warden,  my  father  thus 
outlined  his  policy  with  regard  to  the  prison:  — 

"  I  came  to  my  duties  with  certain  definite  and 
fixed  ideas  touching  the  administration  of  this 
prison,  the  problem  in  my  mind  being  the  prac- 
tical and  consistent  application  of  those  ideas 
under  the  strain  and  pressure  of  the  daily  routine 
of  prison  life. 

"  I  came  with  a  profound  belief  in  considerate 
and  humane  methods,  and  with  an  utter  distrust 


ROLAND   GREENE   USHER.  43 

of  all  brutality  and  undue  severity.  I  recognized 
the  paramount  and  absolute  necessity  of  obedience 
and  good  order,  but  resolved  to  secure  these  by 
methods  based  upon  clemency  and  humanity.  The 
influence  of  prison  life  ought  to  tend  towards 
reclaiming,  restoring,  and  reforming  those  under 
its  influence.  I  believed  that  all  unnecessary 
humiliation  of  the  prisoner  was  of  evil  tendency, 
and  had  the  most  injurious  results;  that  extreme 
severity  hardened  his  heart  and  confirmed  and 
strengthened  the  evil  tendencies  of  his  nature; 
and  that  it  was  our  duty  to  awaken  and  stimulate 
the  prisoner's  self-respect,  and,  if  possible,  to  finally 
send  him  back  to  society,  not  despondent,  but 
hopeful  of  better  things,  —  softened  in  his  feelings 
towards  society,  free  from  that  desire  for  ven- 
geance and  retaliation  which  has  too  often  ren- 
dered him  the  natural  enemy  of  his  fellowmen. 
I  believed  that  nothing  could  compass  this  end 
save  a  policy  of  humanity  and  sympathy,  which 
always  remembers  that  these  men  are  to  be 
reformed  as  well  as  punished.  My  experience  for 
eight  months  has  strengthened  my  belief  in  these 
ideas. 

"  Relieved  and  softened,  so  far  as  it  may  be,  by 
considerations  of  humanity,  this  life  of  continuous 
confinement  is  a  penalty  with  which  the  most 
exacting  may,  I  think,  be  satisfied.  The  crushing 


44  MEMORIAL    SKETCH. 

of  the  individual  life,  the  monotonous  routine,  the 
severing  of  domestic  and  social  ties,  the  loss  of 
freedom  to  do  and  go  at  one's  will,  —  all  these 
combine  to  punish,  in  most  cases,  adequately, 
without  adding  unnecessary  humiliation  or  physi- 
cal suffering. 

"  The  men,  as  a  body,  have  been  obedient  and 
industrious.  While  there  have  been  each  month 
more  or  less  cases  of  petty  infraction  of  rules,  and 
punishments,  I  have  found  no  insubordination,  no 
disposition  or  tendency  towards  it." 

The  prison  physician  in  his  report  for  1883  said: 
"  The  physical  condition  and  conduct  of  the  men 
under  my  supervision  have  never  been  better,  and 
the  number  of  confirmed  invalids  is  becoming 
less.  This  I  attribute,  in  a  great  degree,  to  your 
kind  co-operation  in  carefully  providing  suitable 
work,  clothing,  diet,  etc.,  for  their  comfort  and 
benefit,  and  to  the  absence  of  the  injurious  effects 
of  '  solitary  punishment '  on  the  mind  and  body." 

The  prison  chaplain  in  his  report  for  1883 
spoke  "  of  the  happy  conditions  and  added  facilities 
afforded  the  chaplain's  work  by  the  present  regime 
of  the  prison." 

The  prison  physician  in  his  report  for  1885  said: 
"  The  substitution  of  milder  forms  of  punishment, 
and  the  exhibition  of  more  patience  and  good-will 
toward  the  prisoners,  which  has  been  a  marked 


ROLAND   GREENE   USHER.  45 

feature  of  the  present  administration,  has  undoubt- 
edly contributed  in  no  small  degree  to  their 
physical  health  and  comfort,  and  deserves  mention 
in  the  physician's  report." 

There  was  a  great  deal  of  discussion  before  my 
father  was  Warden,  and  during  his  administration, 
with  regard  to  what  was  termed  "  overwork."  In 
March,  1885,  he  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Chairman 
of  the  Legislative  Committee  on  Prisons  which 
seems  to  me  to  be  of  some  enduring  interest  as 
illustrating  possible  prison  methods.  It  may  be 
said  that  the  idea  of  "  overwork "  was  opposed 
in  every  way  by  many  who  believed  in  the  utter 
degradation  of  all  convicts.  This  letter  reveals 
the  nature  of  the  man  behind  it. 

DEAR  SIR  : 

In  regard  to  the  question  of  overwork  at  this  institution, 
which  your  Committee  is  now  considering,  it  has  seemed  to 
me  well  to  make  a  written  statement  of  the  case  to  you,  as 
it  appears  to  me  to  be  a  matter  of  importance  to  the  State 
as  well  as  to  the  prisoners  and  their  families.  The  phrase 
"overwork"  seems  to  be  an  unfortunate  one  in  this  connec- 
tion, as  there  really  is  no  feature  of  the  system  to  which  that 
phrase,  in  its  usual  meaning,  can  be  applied.  I  say  this 
because  I  learn  from  some  members  of  the  Legislature  that 
they  have  understood  it  to  mean  that  the  men  work  out  of, 
and  in  addition  to,  the  regular  hours.  I  will  state  the  system 
as  it  now  exists.  A  contractor  hires  a  hundred  men,  say,  at 
a  certain  price  per  day.  All  the  time  of  these  men  then 


46  MEMORIAL    SKETCH. 

belongs  to  that  contractor.  It  is  obvious  that  no  force  can 
compel  men  to  do  the  best  work  or  the  largest  in  amount  of 
which  they  are  capable.  All  that  can  be  required  or  enforced 
under  penalty  is  that  a  man  should  work  with  reasonable  dili- 
gence, and  be  free  from  gross  negligence  and  wicked  or  wilful 
carelessness  in  the  manner  in  which  he  does  his  work.  The 
amount  of  work  and  degree  of  skill  that  can  be  required  of 
every  man  under  penalty  of  punishment  must,  in  the  large 
majority  of  cases,  fall  below  what  even  the  average  man  is 
really  capable  of  without  over-exertion.  The  difficulty  of 
adjusting  to  each  man  the  amount  of  work  which  shall  be 
required  of  him,  having  regard  to  all  his  special  qualities 
under  penalty  of  punishment  for  his  failing  to  live  up  to  it, 
is  so  great  as  to  be  out  of  the  question.  It  has,  therefore, 
been  found  wise,  by  experience,  to  fix  a  reasonable  amount 
of  work  and  a  reasonable  degree  of  skill,  having  regard  to  all 
the  circumstances  and  peculiar  conditions  of  the  case  ;  and  this 
stint,  as  it  is  called,  is  the  amount  required  of  each  prisoner. 
This  stint  is  determined  by  conference  and  agreement  between 
the  Warden  and  contractor.  This  stint  the  contractor  con- 
cedes to  be  satisfactory  to  the  point  that  he  will  not  ask  the 
prison  officials  to  exert  any  pressure  under  penalty  to  increase 
it.  Many  of  the  men  have  been  able  to  perform  this  stint  in 
less  than  the  full  working  hours,  —  depending  in  each  case,  of 
course,  on  the  personal  qualities  of  the  person.  It  is  then 
entirely  optional  with  each  man  whether  he  will  do  more,  and 
it  is  equally  optional  with  the  contractor  whether  he  will  give 
him  more  work  to  do  with  the  promise  of  pay.  But  in  no 
case  is  any  work  ever  done  for  the  contractors  out  of  the  hours 
during  which,  by  contract,  they  are  entitled  to  the  services  of 
the  men.  In  no  case  that  I  recall  have  I  known  this  incentive 
to  lead  a  man  to  work  to  the  detriment  of  his  health.  The 
fact  that  each  man  may  by  application  and  industry  earn  each 


ROLAND   GREENE  USHER.  47 

day  a  pittance  for  himself,  however  small,  and  the  fact  that  it 
is  known  to  depend  entirely  on  himself  whether  he  receives 
it  or  not,  add  an  element  to  the  shops  that  relieves  somewhat 
the  servility  of  the  prisoner's  position  and  begets  self-respect : 
a  quality  that  ought  to  be  inspired  at  all  cost,  for  it  has  saved 
many  a  man.  Under  this  system,  as  it  existed  prior  to  1883, 
the  contractors  gave  the  prisoners  checks  or  tickets  as  evidence 
of  indebtedness,  which  were  used  as  currency  by  the  prisoners 
among  themselves,  being  redeemable  at  the  Warden's  office 
out  of  money  left  there  by  the  contractors.  This  led  to 
pernicious  consequences,  which  need  not  be  gone  into  in 
detail,  but  it  was  confessedly  bad,  and  reached  a  point  where 
it  had  to  be  reformed.  At  present  the  contractors  are  not 
allowed  to  give  any  money,  tickets,  or  pledges  to  the  pris- 
oners, or  to  deal  directly  with  them  in  any  way  except  in 
notifying  them  of  the  amount  actually  deposited  in  the 
Warden's  office  for  them,  and  not  one  dollar  of  this  is 
expended  by  the  prisoner  without  the  knowledge  and  consent 
of  the  Warden.  In  fact,  this  money  is  expended  in  various 
commendable  ways,  as,  for  instance,  in  small  purchases  of 
fruit,  allowed  to  be  made  once  each  week ;  in  buying  good 
books,  and  subscribing  for  magazines  and  newspapers,  such 
as  are  allowed  under  the  rules,  and  in  buying  materials  out 
of  which  to  make  trinkets.  Considerable  is  also  deposited  in 
savings  banks,  but  a  larger  portion  has  gone  thus  far  to  the 
families  and  dependent  kindred  of  the  men.  It  is  needless  to 
enlarge  upon  the  value  and  moral  influence,  when  a  prisoner 
leaves  this  place,  of  this  small  accumulation  standing  to  his 
credit ;  nor  is  it  necessary  to  speak  of  the  moral  effect  upon 
the  man  in  his  feeling  that  he  can  occasionally  remit  to  his 
family  or  his  needy  and  dependent  kindred  a  small  sum  which 
is  the  result  of  his  own  fidelity  and  work.  The  largest  con- 
tractor we  have  had  for  many  years  has  said  that  he  would 


48  MEMORIAL    SKETCH. 

not  pay  as  much  per  day  for  the  men  if  this  system  were  not 
in  vogue,  on  the  ground  that  it  puts  the  men  in  a  better  frame 
of  mind,  and  improves  the  quality  of  all  the  work  done,  affect- 
ing not  only  that  specially  remunerated,  but  also  all  the  regular 
task  work.  It  must  be  apparent  that  few  men,  if  this  system 
were  abolished,  would  be  under  any  incentive  to  do  any  more 
or  better  work  than  would  be  absolutely  necessary  to  escape 
punishment. 

Human  nature  is  the  same  in  prison  and  out.  If  the 
prisoners  could  be  induced  or  compelled  to  do  this  maximum 
work  by  any  rules  that  were  practicable  and  enforceable,  the 
contractors  would  be  entitled  to  have  it  done,  and  that  would 
affect  materially  the  price  they  would  be  willing  to  pay,  —  a 
fact  well  known  to  every  contractor  when  he  makes  the  bids. 
Relying  upon  my  own  judgment,  and  upon  what  I  have 
learned  from  contractors  and  instructors,  who  have  had  large 
and  varied  experience,  I  believe  it  is  true  that  the  men  will 
be  worth  more  to  the  State,  and  will  attract  larger  bids  with 
this  system  than  without  it.  No  man  deliberately  made  this 
system.  It  grew  out  of  daily  experience  and  sheer  force  of 
circumstances,  and  has,  in  one  form  or  another,  been  in  vogue 
for  a  great  many  years.  My  opinion  is,  however,  expressed 
altogether  with  reference  to  the  State  Prison  and  the  system 
as  I  have  described  it.  The  matter  was  complicated  at  the 
hearing  by  being  considered  in  connection  with  other  institu- 
tions of  different  character.  I  doubt  if  any  one  rule  will  apply 
to  all. 

The  opposition  to  the  system  has  been  based  upon  its 
alleged  illegality.  The  passage  commonly  cited  to  prove  this 
is  a  portion  of  Public  Statutes,  chapter  221,  section  27,  which 
says  that  "  convicts  sentenced  to  the  punishment  of  hard  labor 
at  the  State  Prison  shall  be  constantly  employed  for  the  benefit 
of  the  State."  It  may  appear  more  clearly,  if  we  seek  to 


ROLAND   GREENE   USHER.  49 

ascertain  what  portion  of  the  prisoner's  time  is  not,  under 
this  system,  constantly  employed  for  the  benefit  of  the  State. 
What  portion  could  be  legally  and  properly  treated  in  any 
other  way?  Who  has  any  legal  right  outside  of  the  con- 
tractor to  dispose  of  the  value  of  the  men's  services  during  the 
contract  hours  of  each  day  ?  If  it  were  alleged  that  a  certain 
one  hundred  men  were  not  on  a  certain  day  being  so  employed 
constantly  for  the  benefit  of  the  State,  would  it  not  be  sufficient 
if  the  Warden  produced  a  contract  with  a  certain  person,  which 
contract  had  been  approved  by  the  Governor  and  Council  and 
Commissioners  of  Prisons,  by  the  terms  of  which  the  services 
of  that  certain  one  hundred  men,  for  all  the  working  hours  of 
the  day  in  question,  had  been  sold  to  that  person  who  had 
used  them  and  paid  for  them  ?  What  residue  of  working  time 
could  be  shown  which  was  not  being  constantly  employed  as 
required  ?  Would  it  be  a  failure  to  comply  with  the  statute, 
if  the  contractor  chose  to  let  the  men  stand  idle  at  the  bench 
for  half  of  that  day?  Is  it  a  failure  under  the  statute,  if  he 
give  each  man  a  little  gratuity  for  special  zeal?  The  over- 
work money  last  year  was  distributed  among  five  hundred  and 
twenty-nine  men,  averaging  a  little  rising  sixty  dollars  each. 
I  believe  that  earning  this  money,  and  receiving  it  as  a  result 
of  personal  striving  and  merit,  have  a  good  influence  and  pro- 
duce a  very  different  effect  from  receiving  the  same  amount  as 
an  allowance  from  the  State  without  the  necessity  of  special 
personal  exertion,  —  a  system  that  has  been  suggested  as  a 
substitute  for  the  present. 

Yours  respectfully, 

ROLAND   G.   USHER, 

Warden. 


50  MEMORIAL    SKETCH. 

In  one  of  his  annual  reports  my  father  states 
that,  during  the  year,  he  had,  by  orders  received 
from  the  prisoners,  sent  more  than  half  of  the 
money  thus  earned  by  them  from  "  overwork  "  "  to 
mothers,  wives,  sisters,  and  other  relatives,  who 
were  known  by  these  men  to  be  in  sore  need  of 
money." 

This  is  a  most  striking  fact.  These  men,  guilty 
of  the  worst  crimes,  voluntarily  and  unselfishly 
gave  away  more  than  half  of  all  their  little 
income,  instead  of  hoarding  it  against  the  day  of 
freedom  or  spending  it  on  fruit  and  luxuries  for 
their  own  use. 

All  things  considered,  my  father's  career  as 
Warden  was,  perhaps,  the  most  creditable  and 
interesting  portion  of  his  life-work.  It  was  a 
service  rendered  when  all  his  faculties  were  at 
their  highest  point  of  maturity.  To  it  he  brought 
all  that  he  had  gathered  by  the  observation  and 
study  of  human  nature,  for  which  he  had  had 
exceptional  opportunities.  He  was  thoroughly 
interested  in  the  work,  and  he  felt  a  genuine 
sympathy  for  even  the  worst  of  the  prisoners. 
This  never  degenerated  into  anything  like  weak 
sentiment.  It  was  a  strong,  manly  sympathy. 
He  was,  in  fact,  a  very  strict  disciplinarian. 
He  exacted,  and  he  obtained,  full  compliance  with 
every  rule  laid  down;  but  he  secured  it  with  so 


ROLAND   GREENE  USHER.  51 

much  tact  that  he  made  obedience  seem  to  be 
the  most  natural  thing  in  the  world.  He  said, 
on  one  occasion  in  a  public  address:  "As  a  rule, 
convicts  despise  sentiment.  They  entertain  the 
strongest  dislike  for  anything  resembling  coddling. 
Practical  and  sound  common-sense  must  be  used 
in  all  relations  with  them.  They  are  only  to  be 
helped  in  a  frank  and  straightforward  manner, 
without  cant  or  sentimentality.  The  keynote  of 
success  is  freedom  from  all  cruelty  and  injustice." 
On  another  occasion  he  said:  "Much  of  the 
failure  of  reform  is  due  to  the  fact  that  so  much 
time  and  attention  are  given  to  the  men  while 
in  prison,  and  so  little  thought  concerning  them 
when  outside  of  the  prison." 

In  the  campaign  in  October,  1883,  it  was  sought 
to  make  a  political  issue  of  the  State  Prison. 
The  candidate  for  governor,  Mr.  Robinson,  and 
ex-Governor  Long  both  introduced  it  into  their 
speeches  in  a  manner  calculated  to  create  most 
erroneous  impressions;  and  they  did  this  without 
any  real  facts  on  which  to  rest  their  statements. 
My  father  addressed  an  open  letter  through  the 
newspapers  to  each  of  these  gentlemen,  and  the 
result  was  to  entirely  remove  the  matters  of 
the  State  Prison  from  the  domain  of  that  political 
campaign.  I  insert  these  letters,  as  being  of 
interest,  because  they  show  what  has  been  true 


52  MEMORIAL   SKETCH. 

of  our  chief  penal  institution  as  late  as  1882,  and 
they  also  show  my  father  in  his  indignant  and 
fighting  mood.  The  letters  were  signally  conclu- 
sive, and  ended  the  whole  discussion.  Governor 
Robinson  was  afterwards  one  of  the  most  loyal 
supporters  of  my  father's  policy.  At  the  time  the 
letters  were  written,  it  was  pretty  nearly  certain 
that  Mr.  Robinson  was  to  be  elected,  and  these 
letters  were  liable  to  irritate  him.  This  had  no 
weight  with  my  father,  who  never  was  in  any 
sense  a  trimmer,  or  disposed  to  gain  favor  by 
abstaining  from  the  utterance  of  what  he  thought 
was  right.  It  is  to  the  credit  of  the  Governor 
that  the  letters  did  not  operate  to  create  any  pre- 
judice whatever.  The  letters  were  as  follows :  — 

Hon.  GEORGE  D.  ROBINSON. 

Dear  Sir,  —  In  your  speech  at  Gloucester  you  are  reported 
as  having  said,  "  There  are  rumors,  and  they  have  taken  the 
shape  of  substantial  reports  in  the  newspapers,  that  the  con- 
dition of  affairs  inside  the  prison  is  of  the  most  threatening 
nature.  At  the  present  these  statements  have  not  been  con- 
tradicted in  the  public  prints,  and  you  and  I  do  not  know 
whether  they  are  true  or  not." 

I  had  not  intended  to  have  a  word  to  say  during  this 
campaign,  but  it  does  seem  to  me  that  your  extraordinary 
utterance  calls  for  a  statement  by  me. 

I  have  to  say,  then,  that  there  is  absolutely  no  foundation 
whatever  for  any  such  rumors  that  may  be  afloat.  These 
rumors  have  never  existed,  so  far  as  I  know,  outside  of  a  few 


ROLAND  GREENE   USHER.  53 

squibs  in  two  newspapers,  in  each  case  the  parties  having 
every  opportunity  to  know  the  truth,  and  no  reason  to  lie 
about  this  prison,  unless  to  make  political  capital.  During 
the  eight  months  I  have  been  here  I  have  found  no  insub- 
ordination and  no  disposition  or  tendency  toward  it. 

The  men,  as  a  body,  have  been  quiet,  obedient,  respectful, 
and  industrious. 

I  am  glad  to  be  able  to  say,  based  upon  information  from 
all  available  sources,  that  at  least  for  many  years  past  the  men 
have  never  done  work  better  in  quality  or  larger  in  amount, 
for  the  number  employed,  than  during  the  last  eight  months. 
If  I  am  to  believe  what  the  contractors  tell  me,  they  are  per- 
fectly satisfied  with  the  work  now  being  done  here.  No  fault 
is  found  either  as  to  the  quality  or  quantity  of  the  work  done. 

You  say,  "  Now  they  have  oranges,  two  or  three  a  day,  and 
luxuries  of  various  kinds."  This,  of  course,  you  must  have 
meant  as  rhetorical  exaggeration.  It  is  not  and  never  was 
true.  The  food  of  the  men  is,  I  believe,  wholesome  and  good. 
We  do  the  best  we  can  for  the  money  we  can  properly  spend 
on  that  item.  Of  luxuries  there  are  none. 

Once  each  week  each  prisoner  is  allowed  to  write  an  order 
for  a  small  lot  of  fruit,  which  is  obtained  for  him  and  paid  for 
out  of  any  money  that  stands  credited  to  him  on  my  books. 
This  is  always,  in  each  case,  a  very  small  quantity,  and  it  is  the 
only  taste  of  fruit  they  ever  get,  except  a  few  times  in  the 
year,  when  it  is  sent  in  by  friends  under  certain  conditions. 
This  is  known  as  the  fruit  privilege. 

I  cannot  myself  see  on  what  ground  the  fair  and  proper 
exercise  of  this  privilege  should  be  denied  these  men.  In  many 
cases  it  is  of  signal  advantage  to  their  physical  condition. 

When  I  came  to  this  place  the  men  had  not  had  an 
opportunity  to  assemble  for  any  exercise  and  recreation  for  a 
period  of  nine  months. 


54  MEMORIAL   SKETCH. 

In  February  and  March  I  allowed  all  the  prisoners,  with  a 
half-dozen  exceptions,  to  assemble  in  the  mess-room  once  a 
week,  and  spend  an  hour  in  conversation  and  such  amusements 
as  were  practicable  under  the  circumstances.  Since  the  early 
part  of  April  I  have  allowed  them  each  week  one  hour  in  the 
yard.  On  these  occasions  they  have  played  at  football,  base- 
ball, and  various  other  games.  I  have  never  had  occasion  to 
find  fault  with  the  behavior  of  the  men,  while  the  benefit  to 
their  health  and  physical  condition  has  been  most  marked.  I 
have  restored,  under  proper  conditions  and  restraints,  the 
privilege  of  making  trinkets,  and  have  every  reason  to  believe 
it  a  wise  and  judicious  measure. 

You  have  made  reference  to  the  overwork  system.  My 
predecessor's  troubles  did  not,  as  you  allege,  arise  from  an 
abandonment  of  that  system,  nor  have  anything  to  do  with  it. 
That,  I  am  informed,  was  abandoned  late  in  the  autumn  of 

1882.  The  so-called  rebellion  was  on  July  4th  of  that  year, 
before  which  time  he  had  been  repeatedly  hissed  in  the  chapel. 

I  have  to  inform  you  that  I  have  a  letter  dated  February  28, 

1883,  from  Thomas  Parsons,  Chairman  of  the  Board,  in  which 
he  says :  "  The  commissioners  are  with  you  on  the  question  of 
allowing  the  convicts  a  portion  of  earnings  and  also  on  the 
fruit  matter."     I  will  add,  without  going  into  details,  that  the 
system  has  been  somewhat  changed  so  as  to  avoid  the  features 
that  had  been  found  to  be  objectionable.     I  have  not  found 
thus  far  any  of  the  troubles  described  as  inherent  in  the  over- 
work  system   by  yourself  and   ex-Governor   Long.     Of  the 
sums  so  given  for  overwork,  I  am  glad  to  say  that,  at  the 
request  of  the  men,  I  have  sent  a  very  large  portion  of  it  to 
mothers,  wives,  sisters,  and  other  relatives,  who  are  known  by 
these  men  to  be  in  sore  need.     The  amount  so  sent  the  last 
six  months  is  between  $4,000  and  $5,000,  which  is  more  than 
half  of  the  whole  sum  received  for  overwork.     Another  very 


ROLAND   GREENE   USHER.  55 

large  portion  is  being  saved  by  men  against  the  day  when  their 
terms  expire.  The  rest  is  spent  for  books,  fruit,  etc.  ;  and  yet 
you  say  they  are  earning  this  money  to  spend  it  selfishly  so  as 
to  live  in  luxury. 

You  said  there  was  no  cruelty  and  no  severity  of  treatment 
here  under  my  predecessor.  The  records  show  that  more  than 
one  hundred  men  were  chained  up  by  their  wrists  from  two 
and  a  half  to  eighty-two  hours,  an  average  of  twenty-seven 
hours  to  each  man.  Some  of  them  were  not  removed  until 
they  fainted  or  went  into  convulsions.  Then  men  were  kept 
in  a  dungeon  from  one  to  eighteen  days,  with  only  a  board  to 
lie  upon  and  a  blanket  for  covering,  in  perfect  darkness  all  the 
time,  and  fed  only  on  bread  and  water. 

One  William  Patterson  was  supposed  to  be  insane,  and  was 
put  into  dark  solitary,  September  12,  1881,  and  remained  there 
in  darkness,  except  a  very  few  days,  until  February  26,  1882, 
—  more  than  five  months,  —  when  he  was  taken  to  the  Danvers 
Lunatic  Asylum,  where  the  poor  fellow  is  to-day.  The  light 
received  for  the  few  days  referred  to  was  simply  by  the  opening 
of  the  outer  solid  iron  door  of  his  cell. 

There  is  more  of  this.  Now,  I  ask  you,  Mr.  Robinson,  if 
this  is  not  cruelty,  if  this  is  not  severity?  I  also  ask,  if  you 
were  governor  of  this  State,  would  you  permit  such  acts  ? 

Respectfully, 

ROLAND   G.   USHER, 

Warden  Massachusetts  State  Prison. 

Hon.  JOHN  D.  LONG. 

Dear  Sir,  —  In  your  speech  at  Attleboro  you  say,  referring 
to  the  State  Prison:  "I  believe  you  will  find  its  discipline 
impaired  so  that  the  present  warden  or  some  of  his  successors 
will  have  to  bring  it  back  to  where  it  was  when  his  predecessor 
left  it." 


$6  MEMORIAL   SKETCH. 

Now,  I  want  to  ask  you  in  what  respect  the  discipline  of  the 
prison  is  defective.  I  want  a  specific  answer  to  this  question, 
and  I  feel  that  I  am  entitled  to  it.  I  am  responsible  for  the 
discipline  of  this  institution.  You,  as  ex-governor  of  this 
State,  have  publicly  asserted  that  the  discipline  is  impaired.  I 
should  like  to  know  in  what  respect,  that  I  may  correct 
whatever  is  wrong.  You  have  never  visited  this  prison  since 
I  came  here.  I  regret  that  before  you  made  any  public 
utterances  you  did  not  see  fit  to  exert  yourself  somewhat  to 
ascertain  what  the  facts  really  were.  There  were  no  obstacles 
in  your  way.  Eveiything  would  have  been  done  to  facilitate 
your  efforts.  I  can  now  tell  you  that  the  prisoners  as  a  body 
have  been,  ever  since  I  came  here,  obedient,  respectful,  quiet, 
and  industrious.  The  rules  of  the  prison  have  been,  and  are, 
with  rare  exceptions,  cheerfully  observed.  The  contractors 
speak  in  high  terms  of  the  conduct  of  the  men.  In  all  honesty 
and  frankness  I  will  say  that  I  do  not  know  what  you  refer  to, 
or  what  you  can  mean  when  you  say  that  the  discipline  here  is 
impaired.  Nor  can  I  believe  you  to  be  entirely  candid  and 
sincere  when  you  say  that  the  discipline  must  be  put  back 
where  it  was  when  my  predecessor  left  this  place.  Would 
you  advise  the  reinstating  of  the  last  warden  and  his  policy, 
knowing  what  I  believe  you  must  know  of  his  administration  ? 
What  would  you  now  think  and  say  if  you  visited  me,  and 
walked  over  this  prison  with  me,  and  in  so  doing  we  were 
hooted  and  hissed  by  the  prisoners?  Yet  will  you  say  over 
your  signature  that  you  were  not  hissed  and  hooted  when  you 
visited  my  predecessor  and  went  over  the  prison  with  him? 
Have  you  forgotten  that  ?  Do  you  call  that  discipline  ?  Is  it 
desirable  to  have  that  restored  ?  Did  you  not  withdraw  from 
the  shops  you  were  about  to  enter  because  of  this  demonstration  ? 

You  say  that  my  predecessor  walked  this  place  with  the 
respect  of  every  man  here?  Do  you  know  that  he  was 


ROLAND   GREENE   USHER.  57 

repeatedly  hissed  even  before  the  so-called  rebellion  of  July  ? 
Do  you  know  that  every  time  he  appeared  before  the  men 
for  eight  months  before  his  dismissal  he  was  treated  with 
every  mark  of  disrespect?  Do  you  not  know  what  punish- 
ments he  inflicted  to  compel  an  appearance  of  respect,  and 
that  without  success?  Do  you  know  that  one  hundred  men 
were  strung  up  by  the  wrists  for  periods  of  from  two  and 
a  half  to  eighty-two  hours,  until  some  of  them  fainted  and 
went  into  convulsions?  Do  you  not  know  that  men  were 
confined  in  dark  dungeons  for  periods  as  long,  in  some 
cases,  as  eighteen  days  on  bread  and  water,  with  only  a 
board  to  sleep  on?  Do  you  know  that  the  last  year  of  his 
administration  was  popularly  called  here  "  the  reign  of  terror," 
it  being  the  only  one  in  the  history  of  this  prison  ?  Did  you 
ever  hear  of  the  case  of  one  Patterson,  who  was  kept  in  dark 
solitary  on  bread  and  water  for  five  months,  only  leaving  that 
darkness  and  solitude  for  the  lunatic  asylum?  Do  these 
punishments  indicate  discipline,  or  the  want  of  it?  Is  this  a 
condition  of  things  under  which  men  work  advantageously? 
Do  the  contractors  desire  this  ? 

You  say  "  the  contractors  themselves  see  that  the  men  are 
in  a  condition  where  they  cannot  perform  as  much  work  as 
they  could  before.  I  understand  the  contractors  are  saying 
there  is  a  lack  of  efficiency  and  discipline  in  that  prison  which 
makes  the  labor  of  the  men  less  satisfactory  to  them." 

This  is  misrepresentation,  the  audacity  of  which  very  much 
surprises  me.  Upon  what,  pray,  is  your  statement  based  ?  Can 
you  name  a  single  contractor  who  will  sustain  your  charge? 
I  make  myself  responsible  for  the  accuracy  of  this  statement ; 
viz.,  that,  since  last  February,  when  I  assumed  control  here, 
the  men  have  been  in  better  health,  have  done  more  work  per 
man,  have  lost  less  days  by  reason  of  sickness  and  punish- 
ments, that  there  has  been  better  order,  and  more  peace  and 
quiet  than  at  any  time  during  my  predecessor's  administration. 


58  MEMORIAL   SKETCH. 

From  October  i,  1882,  to  December  31,  1882,  the  last 
quarter  under  my  predecessor,  there  were,  on  an  average,  641 
prisoners  who  earned  by  their  labor  $19,047.58,  or  at  the  rate 
of  $29.00  average  for  each  man  for  that  quarter.  From  July 
i,  1883,  to  September  30,  1883,  581  prisoners  have  earned  by 
their  labor  $18,751.79,  or  an  average  of  $32.27  per  man. 

In  December,  1882,  and  January,  1883,  under  my  prede- 
cessor, in  fifty-two  working  days,  15,601  days'  work  was  done 
on  the  Waring  fur  hat  contract.  During  this  time  there  were 
784  days  lost  by  sickness  and  punishment.  During  August 
and  September,  1883,  on  the  same  contract,  with  fewer  men, 
in  fifty-two  working  days,  16,602  days'  work  was  done,  with 
only  335  days  off  by  reason  of  sickness  and  punishment. 
During  1882  there  was  rejected  from  8  to  15  per  cent,  of  the 
work  done  by  the  men.  During  the  last  four  months  only 
5  per  cent,  was  rejected. 

You  say  that  my  predecessor  never  carried  weapons  of 
defence.  That  is  a  small  matter ;  but  your  statement  is  not 
true.  You  say  that  I  have  restored  the  overwork  system 
contrary  to  the  regulations  that  have  been  made.  In  reply  to 
that,  I  have  to  say  that  the  system,  as  you  knew  it,  has  under- 
gone some  modification  which  has  removed  the  objectionable 
features.  I  have  a  letter  signed  by  the  Chairman  of  the  Board 
of  Prison  Commissioners  informing  me  that  the  Commissioners 
are  in  accord  with  me  in  regard  to  the  subject  of  overwork  as 
now  in  vogue  here.  A  very  little  exertion  on  your  part  would 
have  enabled  you  to  discover  the  facts  pertaining  to  this  matter. 

I  believe  that  the  portion  of  your  speech  at  Attleboro 
referring  to  the  institution  is  calculated  to  mislead  people  who, 
having  no  personal  knowledge  of  the  facts,  may  rely  on  you 
for  correct  statements  and  sincere  views. 

ROLAND   G.   USHER, 

Warden  Massachusetts  State  Prison. 


ROLAND   GREENE   USHER.  59 

A  letter  from  a  convict  to  his  mother,  in  1883, 
found  its  way  at  the  time  into  the  public  prints. 
My  father  never  knew  who  wrote  this,  nor  any- 
thing else  about  it,  until  it  appeared.  The  mother 
was  so  pleased  that  she  sent  it  to  the  paper  for 
publication.  The  relatives  of  the  prisoners  were 
naturally  very  much  interested  in  the  new  admin- 
istration. It  shows  the  esteem  in  which  the 
Warden  was  held  by  those  under  his  charge. 
The  letter  ran  as  follows:  — 

"Everything  here  moves  most  harmoniously 
now,  scarcely  an  unnecessary  whisper.  Every 
one  appears  to  be  happy;  and  we  feel  that  in 
our  new  Warden  we  have  every  possible  good 
quality  of  a  warden,  —  father,  counsellor,  and  a 
true,  kind  friend,  whose  aim  is  not  self-emolument, 
but  amelioration  of  the  unfortunate  humanity  under 
his  charge.  He  is  regarded  by  all  with  reverence, 
with  filial  affection,  as  a  model  type  of  man,  and 
as  an  example  to  emulate.  You  cannot  imagine 
how  much  more  pleasant  and  elevating  our  sur- 
roundings are.  No  one  fears  nor  looks  for  tyranny 
now.  So  conspicuously  are  the  gentlemanly  and 
true  Christian  influences  showered  upon  us  all, 
that,  in  pure  self-respect  to  our  kind-hearted  pro- 
tector, the  least  careless  infraction  among  the  men 
is  severely  rebuked  by  others  of  the  number.  Not 
only  are  our  holidays  restored  to  us,  but  each 


60  MEMORIAL   SKETCH. 

week  we  are  allowed  the  same  freedom.  We  all 
have  opportunity  to  have  our  outside  exercise  in 
open  air.  Jesse  Pomeroy  had  not  stepped  outside 
of  doors,  and  scarcely  outside  his  little  room,  for 
most  six  years,  till  lately,  when  Warden  Usher 
has  seen  that  even  those  shut  out  of  sight  and 
hearing  are  not  forgotten  and  beneath  his  care, 
notice,  and  attention  to  human  comforts.  Under 
the  present  good  management,  there  is  scarce  any 
need  of  solitary  cells,  and,  of  the  forty  or  fifty,  few 
are  ever  used." 


ROLAND   GREENE   USHER.  61 


CHAPTER   VI. 

HIS  DEATH.  —  FUNERAL  SERMON.  —  RESOLUTIONS. 

j\AY  father  died  in  Lynn,  March  5,  1895,  at 
three  o'clock  in  the  morning.  He  had 
been  sick  for  nearly  two  years.  His  trouble  was 
Bright's  disease. 

His  funeral  took  place  at  St.  Stephen's  Church, 
with  the  beautiful  and  impressive  ritual  he  had 
loved  so  well.  The  remains  lay  in  state  in  the 
ambulatory  of  the  church,  and  were  viewed  by 
hundreds  of  his  fellow-citizens.  The  pall-bearers 
were  Thomas  B.  Knight,  Enoch  S.  Johnson, 
Rollin  A.  Spalding,  Judge  Rollin  E.  Harmon, 
Josiah  C.  Bennett,  and  Lewis  B.  Breer. 

Rev.  James  H.  Van  Buren  delivered  the  follow- 
ing funeral  address :  — 

"  When  the  ear  heard  me,  it  blessed  me ;  and  when  the 
eye  saw  me,  it  gave  witness  to  me : 

Because  I  delivered  the  poor  that  cried,  and  the  father- 
less, and  him  that  had  none  to  help  him. 

The  blessing  of  Him  that  was  ready  to  perish  came  upon 
me:  and  I  caused  the  widow's  heart  to  sing  for  joy."  — 
JOB  xxix.,  u,  12,  13. 

"  Once  more,  dear  friends,  we  are  called  upon 
to  mourn;  once  more  this  parish  shares  with  the 


62  MEMORIAL    SKETCH. 

community  in  a  loss  which  is  theirs  as  well  as 
our  own;  once  more  we  meet  to  speak  words  of 
comfort,  and  to  honor  with  the  tribute  of  our 
affection  the  memory  of  a  departed  friend.  We 
would  not  have  the  thought  of  mourning  predom- 
inate, nor  make  this  solemnity  a  time  of  gloom. 
Nor  need  we  do  so.  We  cannot  but  be  conscious 
that  the  sorrow  of  our  hearts  to-day  is  illumined 
by  the  best  and  choicest  radiance,  turn  we  in 
whatsoever  way  we  may.  If  we  look  backward, 
there  is  the  remembrance  of  a  life  that  has  been 
full  of  kind  and  generous  deeds;  if  we  look  for- 
ward and  upward,  there  is  the  still  better  antici- 
pation which  comes  from  the  God  of  all  hope 
and  consolation. 

So,  that  there  is  light  amid  our  sorrow  to-day, 
whatsoever  way  we  turn. 

I  must  speak  to  you  out  of  my  own  personal 
remembrances,  as  his  pastor,  if  I  may  venture  to 
ask  you  to  recall,  for  a  few  moments,  the  virtues 
that  were  conspicuous  in  him;  and  it  will  be  quite 
possible  that  I  shall  omit  many  things  that  are 
better  known  to  others  than  to  myself,  for  it 
would  be  out  of  the  question  that  I  should  tell 
the  story  of  this  life  with  anything  approaching 
completeness.  You  will  supply  much  that  I  may 
pass  by,  and  yet  I  am  sure  that  you  will 
recognize  in  your  own  recollections  of  him  the 
outline  that  was  so  well  known  to  me. 


ROLAND   GREENE   USHER.  63 

I  think  I  have  never  seen,  in  the  intimacy  of 
close  friendship,  any  man  who  could  more  truth- 
fully have  said  of  himself  the  words  I  have  chosen 
for  my  text  than  he  could. 

And  yet  he  would  have  been  the  last  to  have 
spoken  such  words.  If  I  knew  him  well,  he  was 
one  who  would  not  permit  himself  to  think  very 
much  about  the  good  things  he  had  done,  still 
less  to  parade  or  call  attention  to  them.  And  I 
suppose  no  one,  not  even  those  most  near  and 
intimate,  will  ever  know,  in  this  world,  how  many 
kind  and  helpful  acts  are  set  down  to  his  credit, 
both  in  the  hearts  of  those  for  whom  he  did  them 
and  in  the  record  that  is  written  on  high.  Yet, 
with  all  his  natural  shrinking  from  ostentation,  he 
was  not  by  any  means  indifferent  to  that  apprecia- 
tion which  sometimes  sought  and  found  expression. 
As  an  evidence  of  this,  there  were  tokens  in  his 
possession  of  the  affection  in  which  he  was  held 
by  the  prisoners  whom  he  had  in  charge  during 
his  Wardenship  at  Concord  and  Charlestown,  and 
the  way  in  which  he  prized  those  tokens  showed 
that  he  held  them  in  such  esteem  as  no  price 
could  measure.  And  well  might  it  be  so.  For 
they  told  the  story  of  a  man,  who,  in  a  position 
that  must  have  called  for  great  firmness  of  char- 
acter, yet  discharged  the  duties  of  that  position 
with  unfailing  tenderness  and  sympathy. 


64  MEMORIAL    SKETCH. 

He  found  himself  trusted  with  many  and 
varied  responsibilities.  He  was  honored  with  the 
confidence  of  all  who  knew  him;  and  this  could 
only  be  because  there  was  in  him  that  integrity 
which  men  are  wont  to  recognize,  blended  with 
that  unselfishness  which  claims  their  affection. 
And  so  he  moved  amid  many  friendships.  In 
Church  and  State,  in  political  and  private  life,  in 
war  and  in  peace,  he  was  a  public-spirited  citizen. 
Modest  yet  strong,  firm  yet  generous,  devout  with- 
out bigotry,  faithful  yet  tolerant. 

It  was  not  strange  that,  as  older  men  and  men 
in  public  life  honored  and  trusted  him,  so  he 
should  have  won  many  friends  among  the  younger 
men.  It  is  true  that  he  was  fond  of  young  men, 
and  was  always  hopeful  for  them;  but  while  that 
is  true  also  of  many  another  in  equal  degree,  yet 
it  is  not  always  the  case,  as  it  was  with  him,  that 
young  men  responded  to  his  regard.  I  can  never 
forget  how  constantly  he  showed  that  it  was  a 
principle  with  him  never  to  despair  of  any  young 
man's  future.  If  one  were  wayward,  he  was 
always  lenient,  always  considerate  of  the  circum- 
stances, always  patient;  and  the  knowledge  of 
this  sent  them  to  him  many  a  time,  sure  to  come 
away  with  a  new  encouragement  and  fresh  aspira- 
tions for  the  higher  possibilities  of  their  manhood. 
How  many  a  man  to-day,  in  some  position  of  trust 


ROLAND   GREENE   USHER.  65 

and  usefulness,  can  trace  his  success  to  the  wise, 
kind,  helpful,  and  timely  word  spoken  by  this  man, 
no  one  can  tell.  But  I  am  sure  that  I  am  justified 
in  saying  of  him,  what  he  would  not  have  said  of 
himself,  that  the  words  of  my  text  found  many  an 
illustration  in  him,  —  'Because  he  delivered  the 
poor  that  cried,  and  the  fatherless,  and  him  that 
had  none  to  help  him;  and  that  the  blessing  of 
him  that  was  ready  to  perish  came  upon  him.' 

It  is  not  for  me  to  enumerate  the  positions  of 
responsibility  he  filled,  —  those  have  been  referred 
to  already  in  the  public  prints,  —  but  it  is  my 
privilege  to  say  that  again,  and  again,  and  again, 
he  was  entrusted  with  such  duties  and  honored 
with  such  positions  because  he  was  found  worthy. 
Let  me  rather  speak  of  what  he  was  here  where 
we,  who  were  associated  with  him  in  the  affairs 
of  the  church,  knew  him  best.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered of  him  here  that  he  brought  to  the  dis- 
charge of  the  duties  of  an  officer  in  the  parish, 
among  other  qualifications,  these  three  that  were 
conspicuous:  A  rare  good  judgment,  a  generous 
liberality  both  of  opinion  and  of  contribution,  and 
a  strong  enthusiasm.  In  counsel  he  was  wise;  in 
support  of  the  church,  liberal;  in  all  that  would 
promote  the  welfare  of  the  parish,  enthusiastic. 
I  think  there  was  also  mingled  with  these  traits  a 
certain  unsuspected  sentiment,  a  feeling  that  was 


66  MEMORIAL   SKETCH. 

akin  to  poetry;  and  in  token  of  this  I  may  be 
permitted  to  mention  his  having  taken  the  trouble 
to  bring  from  the  walls  of  old  St.  Margaret's 
Church,  in  King's  Lynn,  England,  a  fragment  of 
stone  which  was  given  him  there  when  this  build- 
ing was  being  erected,  and  which  he  thought 
might  serve  as  a  connecting  link  to  bind  the 
two  parishes,  the  two  towns,  and,  in  some  sense, 
the  two  lands  together.  It  will  always  be  a 
pleasure  to  point  out  that  stone  in  our  vestibule, 
and  to  remember  his  thought  in  doing  so. 

And  how  well  he  loved  this  place!  How 
dear  to  him  its  every  line  and  arch  and  curve 
and  stone!  How  anxious  he  was  that  it  should 
exert  the  kindliest  as  well  as  the  noblest  influence 
upon  the  religious  life  of  this  community!  How 
ready  he  always  was  to  assist  in  anything  here 
undertaken  for  that  end!  How  interested  he  was 
in  the  choir  and  all  its  membership!  How  wise 
in  his  words  of  helpfulness  to  the  rector!  Surely, 
God  has  taken  from  us  a  true  friend.  May  he  raise 
up  in  the  years  to  come  many  as  faithful  as  he ! 

As  his  pastor,  I  may  truthfully  quote  again 
from  my  text,  and  say  what  I  am  sure  will  find 
an  echo  in  every  heart:  'When  the  ear  heard  him, 
then  it  blessed  him;  and  when  the  eye  saw 
him,  it  gave  witness  to  him.'  I  never  went  to 
him  with  any  story  of  trouble  or  of  want  that  I 


ROLAND   GREENE  USHER.  67 

had  found  among  the  poor,  that  I  did  not  meet 
with  a  cheerful  sympathy  and  ready  response ;  and 
it  is  true  again  to  say  of  him  that  '  he  caused 
the  widow's  heart  to  sing  for  joy.' 

I  know  full  well  that  in  all  these  respects  he 
did  not,  by  any  means,  confine  himself  to  the 
limits  of  this  parish.  The  community,  the  world, 
humanity  itself,  was  dear  to  him.  Time  will  not 
permit  me  to  tell  of  the  breadth  of  his  sympathies, 
of  his  great  hope  that  Christian  unity  might  some 
day  be  accomplished,  of  his  desire  that  all  bitter- 
ness and  pride  and  prejudice  might  die  away, — of 
all  this  I  need  not  detain  you  to  speak. 

Let  me  point  you,  rather,  to  the  hopes  that 
he  cherished,  and  to  the  comfort  that  belongs  to 
those  who  have  made  their  peace  with  God.  In 
a  ripe  and  full  age  he  has  fallen  asleep.  In  the 
abundant  trustfulness  that  is,  in  natures  like  his, 
very  apt  to  be  all  the  stronger  because  it  calls 
no  attention  to  itself;  in  the  deep,  strong  faith  of 
an  earnest  Christian  man,  he  has  gone  to  his  rest. 
(  Blessed  are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord,  even 
so  saith  the  Spirit,  for  they  rest  from  their  labors, 
and  their  works  do  follow  them.' 

We  may  not  see,  beyond  the  veil,  that  land 
where  the  spirit  of  our  friend  has  entered;  we 
know  very  little  of  that  country  beyond  the  river; 
but  we  do  know  this, — that  there  is  rest  and  peace 


68  MEMORIAL   SKETCH. 

in  that  land,  that  the  Lord  and  King  of  our  life 
is  there,  and  that  our  friends  are  safe  with  him. 

We  know  that  they  sorrow  no  more,  neither 
hunger  any  more,  and  that  they  are  no  more 
weary;  neither  is  there  any  more  sickness  nor 
separation  there.  And  better  than  all,  we  know 
this,  that  we  shall  meet  them  again,  returning  with 
Christ  in  the  day  when  he  maketh  up  his  jewels! 

May  this  heavenly  anticipation  be  our  comfort 
and  our  consolation,  as  we  let  our  thoughts  reach 
out  to-day,  and  try  to  follow  him  who  is  gone 
from  our  sight  to  those  *  green  pastures  and  still 
waters '  where  the  Good  Shepherd  leadeth  them." 

Twenty-eight  of  the  officers  at  the  State  Prison 
sent  my  mother  an  expression  of  the  respect  and 
esteem  felt  for  my  father  by  them.  This  was  most 
beautifully  engrossed  upon  parchment  so  as  to 
rival  the  style  of  a  copper-plate  engraving.  It  has, 
as  frontispiece,  a  fine  pen  and  ink  sketch  of  my 
father,  sitting  at  his  desk  in  his  office,  as  Warden. 
The  whole  was  bound  most  sumptuously  in  red 
turkey  morocco  in  the  most  exquisite  taste.  The 
written  portion  of  this  testimonial  was  as  follows :  — 

We  whose  names  are  signed  below,  officers  at  the  State 
Prison,  who  had  the  privilege  of  serving  under  the  late 
Roland  G.  Usher  as  Warden  of  that  institution,  desire  to 
testify  to  our  appreciation  of  his  most  estimable  character,  and 
our  deep  sorrow  at  his  death. 


ROLAND   GREENE   USHER.  69 

During  our  association  with  him  we  learned  not  only  to 
respect  him  for  his  unswerving  rectitude  and  integrity  of 
purpose,  his  sense  of  justice,  and  his  invariable  impartiality 
and  fairness  to  all  those  with  whom  he  came  in  contact,  but  to 
love  him  for  his  kindness,  generosity,  and  open-heartedness. 
We  feel  that  in  him  the  community  has  lost  one  who  always 
did  the  best  that  was  in  him  to  do,  unselfishly  and  devotedly, 
in  whatever  public  station  he  was  called  upon  to  fill. 

We  have  ourselves  lost  a  friend  whose  interest  in  our  welfare 
did  not  cease  with  the  cessation  of  our  official  connection,  but 
from  whom  we  were  always  sure  of  a  cordial  welcome  and  a 
kindly  word,  and  we  offer  our  heartfelt  sympathy  to  his  family 
in  their  bereavement. 

"  When  the  ear  heard  him,  it  blessed  him :  and  when  the 
eye  saw  him,  then  it  gave  witness  to  him : 

Because  he  delivered  the  poor  that  ci'ied,  and  the  fatherless, 
and  him  that  had  none  to  help  him. 

The  blessing  of  him  that  was  ready  to  perish  came  upon 
him,  and  he  caused  the  widow's  heart  to  sing  for  joy." 

ELIJAH  S.  DARLING.  GEORGE  W.  NORRIS. 

JOSEPH   FULLER.  HERBERT  W.    HUNTING. 

JAMES   H.   PIPER.  SUMNER  D.   SEAVEY. 

THOMAS  W.  DEVENS.  EDWIN  O.    HYDE. 

ALEXANDER  FRASER.  WILLIAM   H.    H.    SMITH. 

GEORGE  MCDONALD.         MICHAEL  c.  O'CONNELL. 

HARRY  S.   LYMAN.  VIRGIL   D.   YORK. 

FRANK  E.   BENJAMIN.  WOOD   A.    WITHAM. 

FRANK  C.   DUNLAP.  PETER   G.   FRASER. 

JOHN  F.   CHASE.  WINTHROP  T.  ROBINSON. 

SYLVESTER  McFARLAND.  PEMBROKE  S.  CROCKETT. 

CHARLES  E.   ALDRICH.  THOMAS  PRESTON. 

LEVI   S.   CASWELL.  WILLIS  J.    HOWARD. 

JOHN  H.   TOWNSEND.  NAHUM  A.  DOE. 


70  MEMORIAL   SKETCH. 

The  Lynn  Transcript,  giving  a  sketch  of  his 
life,  said  editorially:  "Few  of  our  citizens  have 
been  as  widely  known  as  Colonel  Usher,  or  filled 
so  many  important  and  varied  positions  with  such 
remarkable  ability.  .  .  . 

"  He  took  a  great  interest  in  public  affairs,  and 
was  elected  to  many  local  offices,  all  the  duties  of 
which  he  discharged  with  signal  fidelity.  .  .  . 

"  Such  is  a  brief  sketch  of  the  more  prominent 
incidents  in  the  life  of  our  respected  and  beloved 
citizen.  They  furnish  evidence  of  his  very  useful 
ability,  his  enterprise,  and  his  aspiration  to  benefit 
the  community  which  his  career  has  adorned;  but 
they  only  collaterally  suggest  the  characteristics 
which  won  him  so  many  warm  friends.  He  was 
kind-hearted,  liberal,  and  a  practically  intelligent 
man  of  affairs,  hospitable  and  loyal  to  true  prog- 
ress, and  to  whatever  would  benefit  his  fellowmen. 
He  was  a  steadfast  and  grateful  friend  to  our  city. 
He  was  cosmopolitan  yet  simple  in  his  taste,  as 
shown  by  a  remark  he  made  to  the  writer  of  these 
lines  a  few  years  ago.  He  said,  *  I  have  spent 
considerable  time  in  different  parts  of  this  country, 
and  have  lived  for  some  months  in  various  parts  of 
Europe,  but  I  don't  want  to  live  in  any  country 
but  this,  nor  in  any  place  but  Lynn.'  This  illus- 
trated the  phrase  of  Goldsmith,  —  his  heart  was 
*  untravel'd.' 


ROLAND   GREENE  USHER.  71 

"We  will  not  omit  to  emphasize  his  patriotic 
spirit  and  act  in  April,  1861.  As  we  have  said,  he 
was  not  then  in  the  militia;  he  possessed  a  compe- 
tence, and  had  a  good  business;  but  he  felt  that 
his  example  would  help  the  loyal  cause,  and,  in 
simplest  words,  he  became  a  Minute  Man  —  in  a 
minute.  His  subsequent  service  was  an  after- 
thought; there  was  no  time  to  form  personal  plans. 

"  It  is  not  desirable  to  emphasize  this  service ;  his 
native  modesty  would  forbid.  We  would  touch 
upon  but  one  other  marked  trait  in  his  character. 

"  The  familiar  thought  of  Pope,  '  Man,  know 
thyself  (though  not  exactly  so  expressed),  was 
one  which  his  whole  life  exemplified.  Every  one 
who  considers  his  record  and  character  will  declare 
that  that  was  his  chief  mental  characteristic.  He 
never  aspired  to  a  position  that  he  could  not  fill, 
and  he  filled  none  that  he  did  not  adorn. 

"  Such,  we  believe,  will  be  the  sincere  verdict  of 
all  who  knew  Roland  G.  Usher,  one  of  the  most 
thoughtful  and  practical  of  men,  and  one  of  the 
most  genial  and  steadfast  of  friends.  Our  city  and 
the  nation,  by  his  decease,  lose  a  noble  and 
patriotic  citizen." 

The  Lynn  Daily  Item,  in  its  editorial  columns, 
said:  — 

"  In  the  death  of  Colonel  Roland  G.  Usher  our 
city  loses  one  of  the  best  known  and  most 


72  MEMORIAL   SKETCH. 

highly  esteemed  citizens,  and  one  who  rose  by 
his  energy,  courage,  integrity,  and  ability  from  a 
humble  station  in  life  to  a  leader  of  men  and 
a  prominent  business  position.  Coming  to  Lynn 
when  quite  young,  he  worked  at  his  trade  in  a 
morocco  factory,  and  later,  with  limited  capital, 
engaged  in  the  clothing  trade  with  marked  suc- 
cess; his  industry  and  good  judgment  building 
up  a  business  from  small  beginnings  to  large 
proportions  and  lasting  profits.  As  early  as  1852 
we  find  him  in  the  Common  Council,  active  in 
public  affairs;  then  prominent  as  an  Alderman, 
taking  the  lead  in  all  public  matters;  and  after- 
wards three  years  as  Mayor,  in  which  position 
he  displayed  a  rare  executive  ability  known  to 
all.  His  service  in  the  Legislature,  and  as  an 
Executive  Councillor  for  three  years,  was  marked 
by  the  same  devotion  to  duty  which  characterized 
his  whole  career,  and  won  for  him  compliments 
and  praise  from  all  associates.  At  the  outbreak 
of  the  war  his  services  were  tendered  to  his 
country,  and  his  advance  was  rapid  to  the  place 
of  Paymaster-in-Chief  of  the  famous  Department 
of  the  Gulf,  and  also  of  the  Departments  of 
Annapolis,  Virginia,  and  North  Carolina,  disburs- 
ing thirty-one  and  one-half  millions  of  the  public 
money,  his  conduct  and  bearing  winning  the 
public  acknowledgments  of  the  Paymaster-Gen- 


ROLAND   GREENE   USHER.  73 

eral.  As  United  States  Marshal  he  was  a  noble 
representative  of  the  general  government  in  Massa- 
chusetts. Later  he  served  the  State  again  as 
Warden  of  the  State  Prison  for  three  years, 
bringing  order  out  of  chaos  by  his  firm  kindness 
and  ready  power  of  doing  the  right  thing  at  the 
right  moment.  He  has  done  his  work  well,  and 
his  loss  will  be  keenly  felt  by  all  his  fellow- 
citizens,  while  the  influence  of  his  life  was  always 
for  the  good  and  pure.  Who  can  leave  a  better 
record  ?  " 

The  City  Council  of  Lynn  adopted  these  reso- 
lutions of  respect:  — 

Whereas,  The  members  of  the  City  Council  have  heard  with 
sorrow  of  the  death  of  Hon.  Roland  G.  Usher,  Mayor  of  the 
city  in  1866,  1867,  and  1868, 

Resolved,  That  in  this  sad  event  our  city  loses  one  of  its 
most  valued  citizens,  whose  services  were  marked  by  faithful- 
ness, courtesy,  rare  executive  ability,  and  a  watchful  care  for 
the  best  interests  of  the  people. 

Resolved,  That  in  his  services  to  the  State,  as  a  member  of 
the  Legislature,  advisor  of  the  Governor,  and  in  charge  of  a 
penal  institution,  were  seen  the  same  conscientious  discharge 
of  duty  and  intuitive  judgment  and  knowledge  which  charac- 
terized all  his  public  and  private  life. 

Resolved,  That  all  patriotic  citizens  at  this  time  may 
remember  with  satisfaction  the  promptness  with  which  he 
offered  his  services  to  the  Union  when  the  war-cloud  enveloped 
the  land,  and  that  his  long  and  faithful  service  in  responsible 
positions  in  the  South  called  forth  high  commendations  from 
the  government  he  had  served  so  well. 


74  MEMORIAL   SKETCH. 

Resolved,  That  we  tender  his  family  our  heartfelt  sympathy 
in  their  affliction,  and  that  these  resolutions  be  placed  upon  the 
records  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen  and  Common  Council. 

The  Rector,  Warden,  and  Vestrymen  of  St. 
Stephen's  Church  adopted  these  resolutions  of 
respect:  — 

Whereas,  it  has  pleased  Almighty  God  to  take  from  this 
world  the  soul  of  our  friend  and  brother,  Roland  Greene 
Usher,  who  was  for  many  years  a  communicant  of  this  church, 
and  who  had  been  a  member  of  this  Board  of  Vestrymen,  and 
at  the  time  of  his  last  illness,  a  Warden  of  the  parish,  which 
office  he  resigned  by  reason  of  failing  health,  be  it  therefore 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  Rector,  Wardens,  and  Vestrymen 
of  St.  Stephen's  Church,  desire  to  place  on  record  our  sense 
of  the  loss  we  have  sustained,  and  to  testify  to  the  high  esteem 
in  which  we  hold  the  memory  of  our  former  associate.  We 
recall  with  deep  gratitude  his  many  years  of  faithful  service 
and  constant  devotion  to  the  interests  of  the  parish,  testified  by 
his  unfailing  and  generous  support  of  its  work,  and  by  his 
regular  participation  in  its  worship. 

Resolved,  That  we  tender  to  his  stricken  family  the  assur- 
ance of  our  sincere  sympathy,  and  that  we  commend  them  to 
the  God  of  all  consolation  in  this  hour  of  their  bereavement. 

From  the  numerous  items  that  at  the  time  ap- 
peared in  the  public  prints,  I  select  the  following, 
as  showing  in  some  degree  the  nature  of  the  man :  — 

"  Among  the  many  deeds  of  kindness  done  by 
the  late  Colonel  Roland  G.  Usher  is  one  that  has 
just  come  to  notice.  He  had  a  deep  interest  in 


ROLAND  GREENE   USHER.  75 

the  choir  of  St.  Stephen's  Church,  and  lost  no 
opportunity  to  make  this  manifest.  For  several 
years,  during  the  winter  months,  it  had  been  his 
annual  custom  to  leave  a  standing  order  with  a 
grocer  to  furnish  fifty  of  his  best  oranges  every 
Saturday  night  for  distribution  among  the  boys 
of  the  choir.  Again,  at  the  Easter  dinner,  he  was 
always  sure  to  have  remembered  the  singers,  as 
many  of  the  members  can  testify.  There  were 
many  such  acts  to  the  credit  of  Colonel  Usher, 
and  it  was  by  such  kindnesses  that  he  was  so 
popular  with  younger  men  and  with  the  lads  of 
St.  Stephen's  Church." 

"  The  death  of  Colonel  Roland  G.  Usher  came 
particularly  near  to  the  Lynn  Light  Infantry, 
whose  friend  he  was  for  over  a  half  century. 
Through  all  his  career  in  important  offices  in 
State  and  army,  he  ever  retained  an  active  interest 
in  his  old  company,  and  the  writer  once  heard 
him  say  that  of  all  the  offices  that  came  to  him 
there  was  none  that  he  received  with  so  much 
satisfaction  and  pride  as  that  of  Corporal  in  the 
old  Lynn  Light  Infantry. 

"  He  was  a  friend  in  deed  as  well  as  in  name, 
and  there  was  never  a  time  when  assistance  was 
needed  by  the  company,  either  financially  or 
morally,  but  that  he  was  ready  to  do  all  and 
more  than  any  other.  His  advice  was  ever 


76  MEMORIAL   SKETCH. 

received  as  most  valuable,  and  his  friendship  will 
be  missed  by  the  officers  of  the  old  corps. 

"  A  valued  friend,  an  earnest  patriot,  and  an 
active  citizen,  his  memory  will  remain  as  an 
inspiration  to  all  who  knew  him,  and  his  name 
ever  hold  a  valued  place  in  the  annals  of  the 
company  he  loved  so  well." 

"  Colonel  Usher  related  many  stories  of  his 
experience  as  Warden  of  the  State  Prison,  and 
among  them  one  of  a  German  boy,  about  twenty 
years  old.  He  had  been  in  this  country  but  a 
short  time,  could  not  speak  the  English  language, 
and  being  unable  to  obtain  employment,  he  found 
himself  without  means  to  satisfy  his  hunger.  He 
stole  an  overcoat  and  pawned  it  for  money  to 
obtain  bread,  and  was  arrested.  He  had  no 
friends  to  defend  him  in  court,  and  was  sentenced 
to  prison.  Colonel  Usher  learned  his  story  and 
became  interested  in  him,  as  he  was  in  all  unfor- 
tunates. The  young  man  had  letters  from  his 
father,  urging  him  to  return  home,  and  wanted 
to  answer  them,  but  dared  not  write  for  fear 
that  his  friends  would  discover  his  disgrace.  He 
asked  the  Warden  if  he  could  have  his  father's 
letters  directed  in  his  care,  but  was  told  that 
such  a  course  would  be  the  surest  way  to  make 
known  his  whereabouts.  Colonel  Usher  secured 
a  box  for  him  in  the  post-office,  and  advised  him 


ROLAND   GREENE  USHER.  77 

to  write  to  his  father  that  he  should  not  return 
home  for  three  years,  as  he  was  under  contract 
to  work  at  silver  plating,  on  a  government  job. 
He  followed  the  advice,  and  letters  came  regu- 
larly until  the  Warden  secured  for  him  a  pardon, 
when  he  returned  to  Germany.  He  kept  up  a 
correspondence  with  his  friend  for  a  long  time, 
and  is  prospering  in  his  own  country,  while  his 
friends  know  nothing  of  his  prison  life." 

At  the  April  meeting  of  the  Directors  of  the 
Lynn  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Company,  the  fol- 
lowing resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted:  — 

Whereas,  Colonel  Roland  G.  Usher,  a  valued  member  of 
this  Board,  has  been  removed  by  death  since  our  last  meeting, 

Resolved,  That  we  deplore  the  loss  of  our  associate,  whose 
wise  counsel  and  prompt  and  conscientious  attention  to  official 
duties  were  so  well  known  in  our  community,  and  whose 
Christian  courtesy  to  all  with  whom  he  had  social  or  business 
relations  won  for  him  so  many  life-long  friends. 

Resolved,  That  his  connection  with  this  institution  was 
marked  by  the  same  rare  executive  ability  which  distinguished 
his  course  as  the  chief  magistrate  of  our  city,  and  in  important 
positions  in  the  State,  as  well  as  in  the  great  army  of  the 
Union,  where  he  was  so  true  to  responsible  trusts  and  the 
discharge  of  official  duties  as  to  receive  the  highest  commen- 
dation of  his  commanding  officer. 

Resolved,  That  we  tender  our  heartfelt  sympathy  to  the 
family  of  our  departed  associate,  and  direct  that  these  Resolu- 
tions be  placed  upon  our  records,  and  that  a  copy  be  sent  to 
his  family. 


APPENDIX. 


GENEALOGY 

OF  THE  USHER  FAMILY  IN   NEW  ENGLAND, 
1638-1895, 

COVERING    TWO    BROTHERS,   HEZEKIAH    USHER    AND    ROBERT 
USHER,   AND    THEIR    DESCENDANTS. 

FIRST   GENERATION. 

1.  HEZEKIAH  USHER  of  Boston  was  born  1615. 
He  was  in  his  day  one  ojf  the  wealthiest  merchants 
of  Boston.  He  was  the  first  bookseller  and  pub- 
lisher in  English  America.  He  was  one  of  the 
original  founders  of  the  Old  South  Church,  was 
Representative  to  the  General  Court  during  1671, 
1672,  1673,  was  Constable  in  1651,  and  one  of  the 
Selectmen  of  Boston  for  eighteen  years,  from  1659 
to  1676.  He  joined  the  Ancient  and  Honorable 
Artillery  Company  in  1638,  and  was  made  Ensign 
in  1664.  He  was  a  member  of  the  First  Church 
in  Cambridge  in  1639.  His  first  wife  was  Frances 
,  who  died  Feb.  25,  1652.  By  her  he  had  — 

3.  i.    Hezekiah,  b.  June  6,  1639. 

4.  ii.   Rebecca,  b.  Nov.,  1640. 

in.  John,  b.  Sept.  n,  1643;  d.  Dec.,  1645. 

5.  iv.   Elizabeth,  b.  Feb.  i,  1645. 

6.  v.  John,  b.  Feb.  17,  1648. 

vi.   Mehitable,  b.  March  21,  1649. 

7.  vu.   Sarah,  b.  Sept.  n,  1650. 


8o  GENEALOGY. 

His  second  wife  was  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Rev. 
Zechariah  Symmes.  He  married  her  Sept.  2, 
1652.  She  was  born  Dec.  23,  1629.  By  her  he 
had  — 

vni.    Hannah,  b.  Dec.  29,  1653;  d.  July  24, 

1654. 
ix.   Zechariah,  b.  Dec.  26,  1654;  d.  Aug.  23, 

1656. 

His  third  wife  was  Mary,  daughter  of  William 
Alford,  and  widow  of  Peter  Butler.  By  her  he 
had  no  issue.  He  died  May  14,  1676. 

2.  ROBERT    USHER    of   Stamford,   Conn.,   was 
admitted   freeman  at   New   Haven,  July   i,   1644, 
was  Constable  in  1662,  Representative  to  the  Gen- 
eral Court  in  1665  and  1667,  and  was  Selectman  in 
1668.     He  married,  May  13,  1659,  Elizabeth,  the 
widow  of  Jeremy  Jaggers.     He  died  October,  1669. 
His  children  were  — 

8.  i.   Elizabeth,  b.  1660. 

9.  n.    Robert. 

SECOND   GENERATION. 

3.  HEZEKIAH  USHER  of  Boston  (see  l)  was  born 
June  6,  1639,  and  died  July  n,  1697.     He  married 
Nov.  29, 1676,  Bridget,  daughter  of  John  and  Alicia 
Lisle,  and  widow  of  Dr.  Leonard  Hoar,  President 
of  Harvard  College,  who  died  Nov.  28,  1675.     She 
died  May  25,  1723. 

4.  REBECCA  USHER,  born  Nov.,  1640  (see  1); 
married   May   i,   1660,  Abraham   Browne.      Her 
children  were  — 


GENEALOGY.  81 

i.    Hezekiah,  b.  Aug.  22,  1661. 
ii.    Rebecca, b.  Aug.  26, 1663 ;  d.  Sept.  1 2, 1663. 
in.    Elizabeth,  b.  Nov.  17,  1664. 

5.  ELIZABETH  USHER  (see  l),born  Feb.  i,  1645, 
married  Samuel  Shrimpton  in  1666.     He  was  son 
of  Henry  Shrimpton,  was  born  May  31,  1643,  and 
died  Feb.  9,  1697.     He  was  one  of  the  wealthiest 
citizens  of  his  day,  being  one  of  the  leading  land 
owners.     He  at  one  time  owned  Beacon  Hill,  and 
was  the  first  person  who  held  Noddle's  Island,  now 
East  Boston,  by  an  indefeasible  estate  in  fee  simple. 
He  was  Colonel  of  the  Suffolk  Regiment,  one  of 
the  Judges  in  1687,  a  Royal  Commissioner  in  1683, 
and    one    of  the   Governor's  Councillors    in    1688. 
His  children  by  Elizabeth  were  — 

i.   Mary,  b.  Dec.  4,  1666. 
ii.    Martha,  b.  Jan.  21,  1671. 
HI.    Samuel,  b.  April  20,  1673. 
iv.    Elizabeth,  b.  April  21,  1674. 

6.  JOHN    USHER   (see  1)   was   born   in  Boston, 
Feb.  17,  1648,  and  died  at  Medford,  Sept.  25,  1726. 
He  was  one  of  the  wealthiest  men   in   Boston  in 
his  day,  was    one   of  the    Provincial   Councillors, 
Judge  of  the  Court  of  Pleas  and  Sessions,  Treasurer 
and  Receiver-General,  Colonel  of  the  Boston  Regi- 
ment, and  Lieutenant-Governor  and  Commander- 
in-Chief  of  New  Hampshire.     He  negotiated  the 
purchase  of  the  Province  of  Maine,  the  legal  title 
to  which  was  at  one  time  vested  in  him.     He  was 
the   first  person   on  this   continent  to   receive  the 
grant  of  copyright  as  protection  in  the  publication 
of  a  book,  which  right  was  granted  him  by  statute 
in  1672.     He  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Peter 


82  GENEALOGY. 

Lidgett,  April  24,  1668.  She  died  Aug.  17,  1698. 
His  children  by  her  were  — 

10.  i.   Elizabeth,  b.  June  18,  1669. 
ii.  Jane,  b.  March  2,  1678. 

11.  in.  John,  b.  June,  1695. 

He  then  married,  March  1 1 , 1 699,  Elizabeth,  daughter 
of  Samuel  Allen,  one  of  the  proprietors  of  New 
Hampshire.  His  children  by  her  were  — 

12.  iv.    Frances,  b.  1702. 

13.  v.    Hezekiah,  b.  1705. 

vi.  Elizabeth,  b.  1708;  m.  Stephen  Harris, 
April  25,  1728,  and  had  one  child, 
Stephen,  b.  May  15,  1729. 

7.  SARAH  USHER  (see  l)  was  born  Sept.  n, 
1650;  married  Jonathan  Tyng  in  1669.  He  was 
son  of  General  Edward  Tyng  (b.  1601,  d.  1681)  of 
Boston,  and  was  born  in  Boston  Dec.  18,  1642,  but 
removed  to  Dunstable  in  1677,  where  he  died  Jan. 
19,  1724.  Sarah  died  Feb.  8,  1714.  Her  children 
were  — 

i.    Frances,  b.  Dec.  n,  1669. 
ii.    Elizabeth,  b.  Dec.  28,  1670. 
in.  Jonathan,  b.  Jan.  29,  1672. 
iv.  John,  b.  Sept.   n,  1673;   d.  Aug.,  1710. 
He  graduated  from  Harvard  College 
in  1691. 

v.    Mary,  b.  Jan.  16,  1677. 
vi.   William,  b.  April  22,  1679. 
vu.  Jonathan,  b.  Sept.  29,  1686. 
vin.    Eleazar,  b.  April  30,  1690;  d.  1782.     He 
graduated    from    Harvard    College   in 
1712. 
ix.   Beersheba,  b.  Feb.  5,  1694. 


GENEALOGY.  83 

8.  ELIZABETH  USHER  (see  2)  was  born  in  1660; 
married  Aug.  2,  1680,  John  Sollendine,  this  being 
the  first   marriage    recorded    in   Dunstable.      Her 
children  were  — 

i.    Sarah,  b.  April  15,  1682. 
n.  John,  b.  May  8,  1683. 
in.    Elizabeth,  b.  June  3,  1685. 
iv.    Alice,  b.  Jan.  16,  1687. 

9.  ROBERT  USHER  (see  2)  of  Dunstable  married 
Jan.  23,  1694,  Sarah,  daughter  of  John  Blanchard, 
who  was  a  freeman  at  Charlestown   in   1649,  but 
removed  to  Dunstable,  and  was  one  of  the  founders 
of    the    church    there    in    1685.      Their    children 
were  — 

14.     i.  John,  b.  May  31,  1696. 

ii.  Robert,  b.  June,  1700;  d.,  without  issue, 
May  8,  1725,  being  killed  by  the 
Indians  at  the  famous  Lovewell's 
Fight. 

THIRD    GENERATION. 

10.  ELIZABETH  USHER  (see  6)  was  born  June 
1 8, 1669,  and  married  Sept.  15,  1686,  David  Jeffries. 
Her  children  were  — 

i.  Jane,  b.  July  4,  1687;  d.  March  13,  1702. 

n.  John,  b.  Feb.  5,  1688. 

in.  David,  b.  June  15,  1690. 

iv.  Elizabeth,  b.  Feb.  12,  1692. 

v.  Rebecca,  b.  Dec.  9,  1693. 

vi.  Sarah,  b.  May  4,  1695. 

vii.  Francis,  b.  July  12,  1696. 

viii.  Peter,  b.  Nov.  18,  1697. 


84  GENEALOGY. 

11.  Rev.  JOHN  USHER  (see  6)  of  Bristol,  R.I., 
was  born  June,  1695.  He  graduated  from  Harvard 
College  in  1719.  He  went  to  England,  received 
due  ordination,  and  in  1723  became  Rector  of  St. 
Michael's  Church  in  Bristol,  R.I.  This  was  then 
regarded  as  a  missionary  post,  the  English  Church 
being  very  unpopular,  and  its  services  maintained 
here  only  by  using  the  utmost  tact  and  discretion. 
He  held  this  position  for  fifty-two  years,  and  had 
a  remarkable  degree  of  success.  He  died  May  i, 
1775,  and  was  buried  beneath  the  chancel  of  the 
church  he  had  served  so  long.  In  1730,  he  reported 
to  the  Church  authorities  in  England :  "  I  have  had 
sundry  negroes  make  application  for  baptism  that 
were  able  to  make  a  very  good  account  of  the 
hope  that  was  in  them,  and  their  practices  were 
generally  agreeable  to  the  principles  of  the  Christian 
religion.  I  am  not,  however,  permitted  to  comply 
with  their  request,  and  my  own  duty,  being  forbid  by 
their  masters."  In  1 746,  he  reported  thirty  negroes 
and  Indians  as  being  in  his  congregation.  By  his 
wife  Elizabeth,  who  died  Dec.  5,  1769,  he  had  — 

15.  i.  John,  b.  Sept.  27,  1723. 

n.  Samuel,  b.  Jan.  20,  1725;  d.  May 
15,  1755,  being  drowned  at  Ease- 
quebo. 

16.  in.    Hezekiah,  b.  Nov.  13,  1726. 
17-   iv.    Allen,  b.  Aug.  14,  1728. 

v.    Edward,  b.  March  19,  1729;  d.  April 

i,  I730- 

vi.   Thomas,  b.  April  25,  1731;  d.  at  sea 
April  1 6,  1752. 


GENEALOGY.  85 

17A-    vn.  James,  b.  Sept.  20,  1733. 

vin.  Eliza,  b.  April  7,  1736;  m.  Ezekiel 
Cook,  Feb.  26, 1779,  and  d.,  with- 
out issue,  Oct.  21,  1799. 

12.  FRANCES  USHER  (see  6)  was  born  in  1702, 
and    married  Jan.  7,   1729,   Rev.  Joseph    Parsons. 
He  was    born   in    1702,  graduated   from    Harvard 
College  in   1720,  and  died  May  4,  1765.     He  was 
son  of  Joseph  Parsons,  who  was  born  June  26,  1671, 
graduated  at  Harvard  1697,  and  died  in  1740.     He, 
in  turn,  was  son  of  Joseph  Parsons,  who  was  born 
in  1647,  and  died  in  1729;  who,  in  turn,  was  son 
of  Joseph   Parsons,  who   in   1636  was   one  of  the 
founders  of  Springfield,  where  he  died  March  25, 
1684.     Her  children  were  — 

i.    Frances,  b.  1730;  d.  Oct.  7,  1808. 

ii.    Elizabeth,  b.  1731;  d.  1733. 
in.  Joseph,  b.  Oct.  5,  1733;  d.  Jan.  17,  1771. 
iv.   Thomas,  b.  1735. 

v.    Samuel,  b.  1737. 
vi.  John,  b.  1740;  d.  1775. 
vn.    William,  b.  1741;  d.  1742. 
vin.    William,  b.  1743;  d.  Aug.  4,  1826. 
ix.    Sarah,  b.  1745;  d.  1800. 

x.   Edward,  b.  1747;  d.  1776. 

13.  HEZEKIAH     USHER    (see    6)   of    Medford, 
Mass.,  and  Newport,  R.I.,  was  born  in   1705,  and 
married,   ist,  Abigail,   daughter  of  Aaron   Cleve- 
land, she  being  born  May   10,   1706.     2d,  Jennie, 
daughter  of  Stephen  Greenleaf,  whom  he  married 
March  i,  1732.   She  was  born  May  24, 1714,  and  died 
Dec.  10,  1764.     3d,  Elizabeth  Whittemore,  whom 
he  married  Nov.  17,  1768.     His  children  were  — 


86  GENEALOGY. 

i.   Abigail,  b.  April  3,  1730;  m.  John 
Stewart. 

18.  ii.    Hezekiah,  b.  June  2,  1734. 

19.  in.  John,  b.  May  25,  1736. 

iv.    Daniel,  b.  1737;  d.  young, 
v.  Jane,  b.  1738;  m.  Thomas  Dakin. 
vi.   Elizabeth,  b.  1 739 ;  m.  Joseph  Francis, 

May  15,  1764. 
vn.    Mary,  b.  1740;  d.  unm. 

20.  vin.    Robert,  b.  Jan.  31,  1742. 

21.  ix.  James,  b.  July  1 8,  1747. 
Hezekiah's  first  wife,  Abigail  Cleveland,  carries 

us  over  into  the  pedigree  of  Grover  Cleveland, 
President  of  the  United  States.  The  line  from  her 
father  to  the  President  is  as  follows:  viz.,  Her 
father,  Aaron  Cleveland,  was  born  July  9,  1786, 
and  married  Jan.  i,  1702.  He  left  a  son,  Rev. 
Aaron  Cleveland,  born  Oct.  29,  1715,  who  left  a 
son,  Rev.  Aaron  Cleveland,  born  Feb.  2,  1744,  who 
left  a  son,  William  Cleveland,  born  Dec.  20,  1770, 
who  left  a  son,  Richard  Falley  Cleveland,  born 
June  19,  1805,  who  left  a  son,  Stephen  Grover 
Cleveland,  born  May  18,  1837. 

14.  JOHN  USHER  (see  9)  of  Dunstable  and 
Merrimack,  N.H.,  was  born  May  31, 1696,  and  died 
in  August,  1766.  He  was  Ensign  in  the  Fourth 
Company  of  the  Sixth  Regiment  of  New  Hamp- 
shire Militia  in  1744,  was  Selectman  in  1742  and 
1743,  was  one  of  the  original  owners  of  Wilton, 
N.H.,  by  deed  dated  June  16,  1749,  he  holding 
Lot  i  in  Range  i,  Lot  6  in  Range  6,  and  Lot  8  in 
Range  5.  He  was  also,  in  December,  1752,  one  of 


GENEALOGY.  87 

the  original  owners  of  what  is  now  Gilsum,  N.H.  He 
married  Hannah  Blanchard.    Their  children  were — 
i.  John,  b.  May  2,  1728;  d.  young. 

22.  ii.   Robert,  b.  April  9,  1730. 
in.    Rachel,  b.  1732. 

iv.   Abigail,  b.  Aug.  8,  1734;  d.  young. 

v.  William,  b.  1737,  d.  unm.  He  was 
a  Revolutionary  soldier,  and  en- 
listed June  i,  1775,  in  Colonel 
Nixon's  Regiment.  He  afterwards 
enlisted  Sept.  i,  1779,  in  Captain 
Foster's  Company.  He  was  a 
Corporal.  He  was  also  one  of  the 
first  settlers  of  Pittston,  Me. 

vi.  John,  b.  Dec.  5,  1741;  d.  young, 
vii.   Elizabeth,  b.  March    13,   1744;   m. 

Thomas  Popkins,  Aug.  31,  1777. 
vin.   Olive,  b.  Aug.  27,  1749;  d.  young. 

23.  ix.   Eleazar,  b.  June  16,  1746. 

FOURTH   GENERATION. 

15.  Rev.  JOHN  USHER  (see  11)  of  Bristol,  R.I., 
was  born  Sept.  27,  1723,  graduated  from  Harvard 
College  in  1743,  received  degree  of  A.M.  from 
Brown  University  in  1794,  and  died  July  5,  1804. 
His  father  was  Rector  of  St.  Michael's  Church  in 
Bristol,  R.I.,  for  fifty-two  years,  his  services  ending 
only  with  his  death  in  May,  1775.  Soon  after  his 
death,  the  war  came  on,  and  the  church  was  burned 
by  the  soldiers.  No  services  were  held  until  after 
the  war  had  ended.  During  that  period  the  church 
organization  was  preserved  through  the  untiring 


88  GENEALOGY. 

zeal  of  this  son  John.  When  the  time  came  for 
the  annual  Easter  meeting,  he,  as  the  senior 
warden  and  clerk  of  the  parish,  did  not  fail  to  call 
each  year  its  few  remaining  members  together,  to 
go  through  formally  with  the  duties  which  belonged 
to  Easter  Monday.  These  meetings  had  to  be  held 
in  secret,  since  "  churchman  "  and  "  traitor  "  were 
then  held  to  be  synonymous;  but  a  vestry  was 
annually  elected,  and  a  record  of  the  proceedings 
carefully  made.  At  the  close  of  the  war,  services 
were  resumed,  John  Usher  serving  as  lay  reader, 
until  he  was  regularly  ordained  by  Bishop  Seabury, 
July  31,  1793.  Prior  to  this  the  church  had  been 
rebuilt,  very  largely  through  his  personal  work. 
In  1784,  the  wardens  and  vestry  secured  legal 
authority  to  "  set  forth  a  lottery "  to  help  them 
raise  funds  to  thus  rebuild  the  church.  John  Usher 
and  his  son  Hezekiah  Usher  were  made  the  lead- 
ing managers  of  this  lottery.  From  1793  until  his 
death  in  1804,  John  Usher  served  as  Rector,  when 
he  was  buried  with  his  father  beneath  the  chancel 
of  the  church  which  they  together  had  continuously 
served  for  eighty-one  years.  For  this  long  period 
the  father  and  son  had  been  the  mainstay  of  this 
church.  This  John  Usher  was  also  Justice  of  the 
Court  of  Common  Pleas  for  Bristol  County  in  1783 

and  1784.      He    married  Ann  ,  who  died  in 

May,  1769.     His  children  were  — 


i.  John, 


n.    Ann, 


b.  April   21,  1752;    d.  unm. 

Jan.  9,  1770. 
b.  April  21, 1752;  m.  George 


D. 


GENEALOGY.  89 

in.    Clarissa,  b.  May  26,  1754;  d.  July  4, 

1785- 
iv.    Samuel,  b.  March  28,  1756;  d.  unm. 

Sept.  26,  1835. 
v.    Frances,  b.  Aug.  6,  1758;  m.  Peter 

Ruton,  Nov.  2,  1783. 
vi.    Hannah-P.,  b.  July  6,  1760;  m.  James 

Robeshore. 

24.  vn.    Hezekiah,  b.  May  12,  1763. 

25.  vin.    George-Dunbar,  b.  Feb.  19,  1764. 

ix.   Mary,  b.  Nov.  10,  1765;  m.  Myndert 

Lansing. 
x.   Sarah,  b.  Feb.  13,  1767;  m.  Ellery 

Sanford. 

16.  HEZEKIAH  USHER  (see  11)  of  Bristol,  R.I., 

was  born  Nov.  13,  1726,  and  married  Anna  , 

who  was  born  in  1722,  and  died  Dec.   10,  1793. 
He  died,  without  issue,  Feb.  26,  1802.     In  1778, 
his  house  was  burned  by  the  British  soldiers,  and 
he  was  carried  away  as  a  prisoner.     He  was  after- 
wards allowed  to  go  at  large  on  parole. 

17.  ALLEN  USHER  (see  11)  of  Bristol,  R.I.,  was 
born  Aug.  14,  1728,  and  died  Oct.  15,  1794.     He 
married  Nov.  30,  1755,  Rebecca  Bourne,  who  was 
born  in  1738,  and  died  June  15, 1801.     His  children 
were  — 

i.   Thomas,  bapt.  Sept.  25,  1757. 

26.  ii.  James,  b.  June  29,  1760. 

27.  in.   Edward,  b.  Dec.  26,  1761. 

28.  iv.    Allen,  b.  June  2,  1765. 

29.  v.    Aaron,  b.  Aug.  21,  1768. 
29A.      vi.  John,  b.  Aug.  9,  1770. 


90  GENEALOGT. 

vii.   William,  b.  July  2,  1773;   d.  July 

28,  1774. 

vni.  Anne,  b.  Oct.  26,  1780. 
17A.  JAMES  USHER  (see  11)  of  Bristol,  R.I.,  was 
born  Sept.  20,  1733.  He  graduated  at  Yale  College 
in  1753,  and  then  prepared  to  enter  the  ministry. 
In  1757,  he  took  passage  for  England  for  the  pur- 
pose of  obtaining  ordination.  The  ship  in  which 
he  sailed  was  captured  by  a  French  fleet,  and  he 
was  sent  as  a  prisoner  to  the  Castle  of  Bayonne, 
where  he  fell  sick  and  soon  died. 

18.  HEZEKIAH  USHER  (see  13)  of  East  Haddam, 
Conn.,  was  born  June  2,   1734.      He  removed  to 
Brookfield,  N.Y.      He    married    Lydia   Baker  on 
Nov.  3,  1757.     She  died  Dec.  31,  1808.     He  died 
March  28,  1809.     His  children  were  — 
i.  Jane,  b.  Aug.  2,  1758. 
ii.   Lydia,  b.  Feb.  18,  1760;  m.  William 
Brown,  had  two  children,(i)Will- 
iam,  and  (2)  Olive  who  married 
Samuel  Coon. 
HI.    Harris,  b.  Sept.  10,  1762;  d.  May  17, 

1771. 
iv.   Abigail,  b.  Aug.  12, 1764;  m.  Samuel 

Tyler;  d.  May  28,  1831. 
v.    Sarah,   b.   April   i,   1765;    m.   Paul 

Palmer. 
30.      vi.    Hezekiah,  b.  April  2,  1767;  removed 

to  North  Olmstead,  Ohio, 
vii.    Susanna,  b.  March  i,  1769;  m.  Paul 
Palmer,  March  23,  1800;  d.  July, 
1801. 


GENEALOGY.  91 

31.  vin.   Aaron-Cleveland,  b.  Oct.  17,  1770. 

ix.   Olive,  b.  Oct.  17, 1772;  d.  March  17, 

1775- 

32.  x.   Harris,  b.  May  12,  1774. 

xi.   Charles-Lee,  b.  March  13,  1776. 
xn.   Watros,  b.  Feb.  7,  1780;  removed 

to  North  Olmstead,  Ohio, 
xin.   Moses-Craft,  b.  Oct.  14,  1 783 ;  d.  Jan. 

28,  1810;  m.  Lucy  Palmer,  Sept. 

10,  1809. 

33.  xiv.    Nathaniel,  b.  Oct.  28,  1786. 

19.  JOHN  USHER  (see  13)  of  Smithfield,  R.I., 
was  born  May  25,  1736,  and  died  in  July,  1837,  at 
Gloucester,  R.I.     He  was  a  Revolutionary  soldier, 
and    enlisted   Oct.   19,   1779,  in   Colonel    Chapin's 
Regiment.     He  afterwards  enlisted,  April  10,  1782, 
in  the  Seventh  Regiment.     He  married  Freelove 
Luther,  by  whom  he  had  — 

34.  i.    Stephen, 
ii.  Jane. 

HI.  John. 

35.  iv.    Daniel,  b.  Feb.  15,  1786. 

v.  James. 

vi.   Freelove;  m.  Ebenezer  Southwick. 

vii.    Delia;  m.  Valentine  Inman. 
His  wife  died  Oct.  15,  1815,  and  he  married,  2d, 
Zilpha  Phillips,  by  whom  he  had  no  issue. 

20.  ROBERT  USHER  (see  13)  of  Chatham  and 
Colchester,  Conn.,  was  born  Jan.  31,  1742,  and  died 
March  27,  1820.     He  was  a  doctor.     He  was  ap- 
pointed Jan.  30,  1776,  Surgeon  and  Physician  for 
the   First  Connecticut    Regiment,  then   raised  by 


92  GENEALOGY. 

Colonel  Wadsworth,  and  sent  to  Cambridge,  Mass., 
for  service  under  General  Washington.  He  married, 
ist,  Susanna,  daughter  of  Jonathan  Gates,  May  23, 
1765.  She  died  Dec.  13,  1777.  He  married,  2d, 
Anna  Cone,  Jan.  25, 1779.  She  died  May  20,  1849, 
aged  94.  His  children  were  — 

36.  i.    Oliver,  b.  Sept.  16,  1766. 

n.  Jonathan,  b.  July  4,   1768;  d.  Sept. 
22,  1769. 

37.  in.  Jonathan,  b.  Nov.  7,  1770. 

38.  iv.    Robert,  b.  Dec.  14,  1772. 

v.    Susanna,  b.  Aug.  23,  1774;  m.  Eben- 

ezer  Rollo. 
vi.  James,  b.  Feb.  25,  1780;  d.  Aug.  12, 

1780. 

vn.  James,  b.  July  18,  1781;  d.  Oct.  i, 
1817. 

39.  vni.    Revilo-Cone,  b.  Jan.  19,  1783. 

ix.    Anna,  b.  Oct.  25,  1784;  d.  Sept.  21, 

1801. 
x.    Statira,b.  July  22, 1786;  m.  Governor 

Stephen  F.  Palmer. 
xi.    Abigail,  b.  May  30,  1788;  m.  Rev. 

Jonathan  Cone, 
xn.    Deodate-Johnson,  b.  April  6,  1790; 

unm. 

40.  xni.    Sophran,  b.  Jan.  29,  1792. 

xiv.    Harriet,  b.  Dec.  16,  1793;  unm. 
xv.    Elizabeth,  b.  Jan.  19,  1796;  d.  unm. 
Feb.  16,  1838. 

41.  xvi.  Josiah-Cleveland,  b.  Aug.  24,  1802. 


GENEALOGY.  93 

21.  JAMES  USHER  (see  13)  of  Chatham,  Conn., 
and  Canaan,  N.Y.,  was  born  July  18,  1747.     He 
married,  Jan.  20,  1774,  Sarah  Brainerd,  and  had  — 

i.    Ruth. 

ii.    Fanny. 

in.  James. 

22.  ROBERT   USHER    (see    14)    of  Merrimack, 
N.H.,  and  Medford,  Mass.,  was  born  April  9,  1730, 
and  died  Oct.  13,  1793.     He  married  Sarah  Stearns 
of  Bedford,  who  died  Feb.  4,  1794,  aged  59.    They 
had  — 

41  A.        i.    Zechariah. 

n.    Sarah,  b.  July  6,  1755;  m.  Joseph 
Nash. 

42.  in.    Abijah,  b.  Feb.  15,  1757. 

iv.    Hannah,  b.  Feb.  7,  1759;  m.  John 
Peters. 

43.  v.    Robert,  b.  March  7,  1761. 

44.  vi.    Daniel,  b.  May  14,  1763. 

vii.    Fanny,  b.  1764;  m.  Robert  Wyer. 

45.  viii.  John,  b.  1766. 

ix.    Mary,  b.  1768;  m.  Wyman  Weston, 
Nov.  23,  1800. 

46.  x.    Eleazar,  b.  Nov.  23,  1770. 

23.  ELEAZAR  USHER   (see   14)   of  Merrimack 
and  Amherst,  N.H.,  was  born  June  16,  1746.     He 
died  at  Milford,  Mass.     He  enlisted  July  20,  1777, 
and  was  in  Captain   Ford's  Company  in   General 
Stark's  Brigade.     He  served  eight  months  also  in 
Captain    Towne's    Company    in    Colonel    Bridges 
Regiment,   enlisting   May  5,    1775.      He    married 
Prudence,  widow  of  P.  Wilson,  and  had  — 

Simeon,  b.  June  10,  1785;  d.  April  28,  1786. 


94  GENEALOGT. 

FIFTH    GENERATION. 

24.  HEZEKIAH    USHER    (see    15)    of   Bristol, 
R.I.,  was  born  May  12,  1763,  and  died  at  Gambia 
River,  Sept.  15,  1795.     He  was  a  soldier  in  the 
Revolution,   enlisting   July    28,    1780,   in    Captain 
Wilmarth's  Company  in  Colonel  Carpenter's  Regi- 
ment.    He  married,  Nov.  15,  1789,  Sarah,  daughter 
of  Josiah  Finney.    She  died  in  1821.    His  children 
were  — 

i.   Ann-Frances,  b.  June,  1791;  d.  1795. 

47.  ii.    George-Finney,  b.  Oct.  22,  1792. 
in.    Hezekiah,  b.  1795;  d.  1796. 

25.  GEORGE  DUNBAR  UsHER(see  15)of  Bristol, 
R.I.,  was  born  Feb.   19,  1764,  and  died  May  24, 
1798.      He    married    Elizabeth    Allen,    who    died 
Jan.  12,  1795.     His  child  was  — 

Elizabeth-Allen,  b.  May  2,  1790. 

26.  JAMES  USHER  (see  17)  of  Bristol,  R.I.,  was 
born  June  29,  1760,  and  died  Dec.  11,  1832.     He 
married  Susan,  widow  of  his  brother  Allen  (see  28). 
She  was  born  1769,  and  died  Aug.  16,  1829.    Their 
children  were  — 

i.   Thomas,  b.  Oct.,  1799;  d.  Nov.,  1799. 

48.  n.   Allen-Thomas,  b.  1806. 

in.    Susan,  b.  1807;  m.  Daniel  Gorham. 

49.  iv.   Thomas-Jefferson,  b.  1 81 1. 

27.  EDWARD  USHER  (see  17)  of  Bristol,  R.I., 
was  born   Dec.  26,   1761;    married,  Jan.   2,    1785, 
Phebe  Lawton,  and  had  — 

i.    Anne,  bapt.  May  2, 1790;  m.  Benjamin 
Grant. 


GENEALOGT.  95 

50.  ii.   Allen,  b.  Aug.  25,  1796. 

in.    Hannah,  1  ,  A 

\  bapt.  Aug.  c,  17915. 
iv.    Lydia-Pearse,  j 

v.  Joseph,  b.  1800;  d.  1816. 

28.  ALLEN  USHER  (see  17)  of  Bristol,  R.I.,  was 
born  June  2,  1765,  and  died  Sept.  25,  1796;  married 
Susanna,  daughter  of  Thomas  Diman,  and  had  — 

51.  i.  James,  b.  1789. 

n.    Deborah,    bapt.    June    9,    1791;     m. 

Stephen  Chaffee. 
in.    Elizabeth,  m.,  ist,  William  Waldron; 

2d,  Samuel  Smith, 
iv.    Hezekiah,  b.  Oct.  8,   1793;   d.  April 

18,  1818. 
v.    Susan,  b.  June  8,  1796;  d.  1826. 

29.  AARON  USHER  (see  17)  of  Bristol,  R.I.,  was 
born  Aug.  21,  1768,  and  died  Nov.  i,  1819;  married, 
ist,  Hannah  Oxx,  who  died  April  20,  1804.     He 
then   married,  2d,   Elizabeth   Bosworth,  who  died 
Sept.  17,  181 1,  aged  33.     He  then  married,  3d,  May 
24,   1812,   Mary  Bradford,   daughter   of  Benjamin 
Bosworth.     His  children  were  — 

52.  i.   William-H.,  b.  1802. 

53.  n.    Benjamin-B.,  b.  1804. 

29*.  JOHN  USHER  (see  17)  of  Bristol,  R.I., 
was  born  Aug.  9,  1770.  He  married  Betsey 
Burroughs,  April  10,  1796,  and  died  at  Havana, 
Nov.  4,  1799. 

30.  HEZEKIAH  USHER  (see  18)of  East  Haddam, 
Conn.,  was  born  April  2,  1767,  and  married,  May 
n,  1795,  Alice  Ransom,  and  had  — 

Nancy,  b.  1797;  d.  May  2,  1803. 


96  GENEALOGY. 

31.  AARON    CLEVELAND    USHER   (see   18)   of 
East  Haddam,  Conn.,  was  born  Oct.  17,  1770,  and 
married,  Feb.  2,  1794,  Rachel  Church. 

32.  HARRIS  USHER  (see  18)  of  East  Haddam, 
Conn.,  was  born  May  12,  1774;  married,  May  31, 
1801,  Elizabeth  Shaw. 

33.  NATHANIEL  USHER  (see  18)  of  Brookfield, 
N.Y.,  was  born  Oct.  28,  1786,  and  died  Sept.  23, 
1865.     He  was  a  physician.     He  married,  Dec.  13, 
1810,  Lucy,  the  widow  of  his  brother  Moses.     She 
was  Lucy  Palmer,  the  daughter  of  John  Palmer  of 
Stonington,  Conn.,  was  born  Oct.  20, 1791,  and  died 
Oct.,  1870.     Their  children  were  — 

i.    Almira-A.,   b.    Dec.    u,    1811;    m. 

Samuel  Hill. 

n.    Moses,  b.  Sept.  n,  1813. 
54.      in.  John-Palmer,  b.  Jan.  9.  1816. 

iv.   Abigail-Jane,  b.  Sept.  19,  1818;  m. 

John  Campbell,  and  had  a  daughter 

Sarah,  who  married  Dr.  Edwin  N. 

Coon  of  De  Ruyter,  N.Y. 

v.    Mandana,  b.  March    15,    1821;    m. 

Harvey  Holmes, 
vi.    Cynthia,    b.   April    19,    1823;    d.   in 

infancy, 
vii.   Lucy,  b.  June  21,  1825;    m.  James 

Collier. 
84.   vin.    Nathaniel,  b.  Oct.  u,  1827. 

ix.    Cynthia,  b.  Oct.  27,  1830;  m.  Martin 
Dedrick. 

34.  STEPHEN  UsHER(see  19)of  Smithfield,  R.I., 
married    Prudence   Colwell,  March  20,   1803,  and 
had  seven  children. 


GENEALOGY.  97 

35.  DANIEL  USHER  (see  19)  of  Smithfield,  R.I., 

was  born  Feb.   15,  1786;   married  Freelove  , 

Jan.  18,  1812.     She  died  June  5,  1845.     His  chil- 
dren were  — 

55.  i.  James-S.,  b.  April  14,  1813. 

n.    Delia-A.,  b.  May  14,  1814;  m. 

Moore  of  Cabotsville,  Mass. 

56.  in.   Elisha-M.,  b.  Sept.  12,  1815. 

iv.    Wheaton,    b.    Jan.    17,    1817;     of 

Vernon,  Conn, 
v.    Freelove,  b.  Dec.  7, 1818;  m.  L.  R. 

Northup,  Rockville,  Conn, 
vi.    Rosanna,  b.  March   27,  1820;    m. 

R.  Fitch  of  Tolland,  Conn. 

57.  vn.  Joseph,  b.  April  17,  1821. 

viii.  John,  b.  May  4,  1822;  of  Milford, 

Mass, 
ix.    Rachel,  b.  April  4,  1824;  m.  B.  F. 

Crandall  of  Tolland,  Conn. 
x.    Daniel,  b.  Feb.  22,  1826;  of  Fish- 
erville,  Conn. 

58.  xi.    Stephen,  b.  Feb.  5,  1827. 

xii.  Samuel-L.,  b.  March  15,  1828;  of 
Brighton. 

xni.  Edward-F.,  b.  Dec.  15,  1830;  of 
Leicester,  Mass.;  unm. 

xiv.  Susan-J.,  b.  Dec.  25,  1832;  of 
Coventry,  Conn. 

xv.  Alvin-L.,  b.  Nov.  2,  1834;  of  Mil- 
ford,  Mass. 

xvi.  Clarissa-D.,  b.  Sept.  n,  1836;  of 
Coventry,  Conn. 


98  GENEALOGY. 

xvn.   William-H.,  b.  June  17,  1838;   of 

Coventry,  Conn, 
xvin.    Harkless-S.,  b.  April  23,  1840;  of 

Coventry,  Conn. 

36.  OLIVER  USHER  (see  20)  of  Chatham,  Conn., 

and  of ,  Ga.,  was  born  Sept.  16,  1766;  married, 

ist,  Huldah  Foote,  June  18,  1789,  and  had  — 

i.  Jerusha-Cadwell,  b.  March  18,  1790; 

m.  James  Wakeman,  1830. 

His  wife    dying    Sept.   21,   1791,  he   married,  2d, 

Sarah- Andrews  Rawson,  Feb.  6,  1803,  and  had  — 

ii.    Catherine-Rawson,  b.  July  12,  1807; 

m.  B.  Goddard,  June  u,  1828,  and 

d.  Sept.  4,  1834. 

59.  in.    Robert-Oliver,  b.  April  25,  1809. 

iv.   Emeline-Dorothy,  b.  Feb.   n,  1811; 

m.  Benjamin  Reed,  March  27, 1828 ; 

d.  March  8,  1829. 
v.  Julia-Eliza,  b.  Sept.  26,  1814;  d.  Dec. 

22,  1814. 

60.  vi.    Charles-Cleveland,  b.  June  16,  1818. 
He  died  Aug.   n,  1824.      His  second  wife   died 
March  n,  1852. 

37.  JONATHAN  UsHER(see  20)of Haddam,Conn., 
was  born  Nov.  7,  1770,  and  died  Dec.  26,  1839; 
married  Mehitable  B.  Comstock,  Nov.  25,  1803,  and 
had  — 

61.  i.    Selden,  b.  Feb.  23,  1806. 

u.    Cornelia- Ann,  b.  June  9, 1808,  and  m. 

Braddock  Strong,  Feb.  7,  1826. 
in.    Caroline-M.,   b.    Nov.   18,   1811;    m. 

Roswell  Reed,  Nov.  16,  1831. 


GENEALOGY.  99 

iv.  Jonathan-P.,  b.  April  i,  1813;  d.  Nov. 

27,  1836. 

v.   Maria-M.,  b.  May,  1816;  d.  Jan.  n, 
1817. 

38.  ROBERT  USHER  (see  20)  of  Hamilton,  N.Y., 
was  born  Dec.   14,  1772;   married  in   1797,  Lucy, 
daughter  of  William   and   Lucy  (Day)   Brainerd, 
who  was  born  April  22,  1778.     He  died  Sept.  27, 
1851.     Their  children  were  — 

62.  i.    Newell-F.,  b.  March  31,  1798. 

63.  ii.   William,  b.  Sept.  6,  1799. 

64.  HI.    Horace,  b.  Nov.  22,  1801. 

iv.   Almira,  b.  Jan.  7,  1810;  m.  Ira  Sher- 
man, July,  1840;  d.  July  30,  1851. 

65.  v.    Robert-R.,  b.  Dec.  31,  1812. 

39.  REVILO    CONE    USHER    (see   20)    of   East 
Haddam,  Conn.,  was  born  Jan.  19,  1783;  married, 
April  4,  1827,  Mandana,  daughter  of  Rev.  Robert 
and  Jerusha  (Estabrook)  Robbins,  and  had  — 

i.    Catherine-Meroa,  b.  Dec.  26,  1827. 
ii.    Robert-Bela-Robbins,  b.  Sept.  28,  1831. 
in.   Abby-Mandana,  b.  June  7,  1833;  m.  Nov. 

9,  1852,  David  S.  Bigelow. 
iv.    Amatus-Revilo,  b.  Oct.  3,  1834;   d.  Aug. 

21,  1838. 
v.  James-Chauncy,  b.  Sept.  2,  1837. 

40.  SOPHRAN    USHER   (see    20)   of   Chatham, 
Conn.,  was  born  Jan.  29,  1792;   married,  Nov.  8, 
1826,  Abigail,  daughter  of  Elisha,  Jr.,  and  Beer- 
sheba  (Sellew)  Lord,  and  had  — 

Elisha-Lord,    b.   Aug.  23,    1835;    d.   Sept.   3, 
1839. 


ioo  GENEALOGY. 

41.  JOSIAH    CLEVELAND    USHER    (see   20)    of 
Plymouth,  Conn.,  and  Plainville,  Conn.,  was  born 
Aug.  24, 1802;  married,  Sept.  9, 1828,  Ruth  Frisbie, 
and  had  — 

i.  James,  b.  July  n,  1831;  d.  Feb.  20,  1837. 
ii.    Ruth- Ann,  b.  Aug.  19, 1834;  m.  Francis  H. 

Smith,  April  29,  1855. 
HI.    Robert-Cleveland,  b.  April  19,  1841. 
41A.  ZECHARIAH  USHER  (see  22)  lived  in  Bux- 
ton,  Me.,  and  afterwards  in  Rye,  N.H.     He  was  a 
physician,  and   married   Bethiah   Leavitt,  Jan.  29, 
1793.      She    was   born    April   19,    1772,  and  was 
daughter  of  Daniel  and  Abigail  Leavitt. 

42.  ABIJAH  USHER  (see  22)  of  Medford,  Mass., 
and  Hollis,  Me.,  was  born  Feb.  15,  1757.     He  died 
in   1836.      He  was  a  soldier   in   the    Revolution, 
enlisting  July  15,  1776,  in  Captain  Barren's  Com- 
pany.    He  was  generally  given  the  title  of  Captain. 
He  was  Selectman  in  1805,  1808,  and   1810.     He 
was  Representative  to  the  General  Court  of  Massa- 
chusetts   in   1809,  1810,  and    1821.     He    married, 
ist,  Mrs.  Mary  Weld,  then  of  Roxbury,  Oct.  4, 
1784.     She  was  born  Dec.  n,  1762,  and  died  Oct. 
19,    1791.     She   was    daughter   of  Lieut.-Colonel 
John  Sumner  of  Ashford,  Conn.     His  children  by 
her  were  — 

66.  i.   Ellis-Baker,  b.  Nov.  7,  1785. 

67.  n.    Abijah,  b.  Dec.  22,  1788. 

68.  in.   Mary-Ruggles,  b.  1789. 

He  married,  2d,  Rebecca,  daughter  of  Samuel  and 
Mary  (Tompson)  Kidder,  Dec.  20,  1795.  His 
children  by  her  were  — 


GENEALOGT.  101 

85.  iv.    Samuel. 

v.   Drusilla;  m.,  ist,  Hamlin;  2d, 

Riggs;  d.  1876. 

86.  vi.  James-Madison,  b.  1808. 

87.  vii.   Robert-S. 

43.  ROBERT    USHER   (see   22)  of  Merrimack, 
N.H.,  was  born  March  7, 1761,  and  died  Sept.,  1838. 
He  enlisted  July  7,  1780,  in  Captain    Spalding's 
Company,  which  joined  the  army  at  West  Point. 
He  married  Lydia  Harris,  who  died  July  n,  1860. 
His  children  were  — 

i.   Elizabeth;  d.  in  infancy. 

69.  ii.    Robert,  b.  1787. 

70.  in.    Atherton. 

71.  iv.    Scolly. 

72.  v.    Luther. 

88.  vi.   Elizabeth,  b.  1797. 

89.  vii.    Fanny,  b.  Jan.  10,  1800. 

90.  viii.    Abigail. 

91.  ix.   Barnard,  b.  May  6,  1805. 

x.  John;  m.  Mary  Strout. 
xi.   Mary;  m.  Alexander  Parker. 
86.    xn.    Sarah,  b.  1809. 

44.  DANIEL  USHER  (see  22)  of  Danvers,  Mass., 
was  born  May  14,  1763,  and  died  May  18,  1848. 
He  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolution.     He  enlisted 
Aug.  6,  1781,  and  acquired  the  title  of  Captain. 
He    married,    ist,    Dec.    26,    1785,    Lois    Park    of 
Framingham,  and  had  — 

i.   Abigail, 
ii.    Hannah. 
HI.  John. 


102  GENEALOGY. 

He  married,  zd,  Margaret  Carroll  of  Danvers.    She 
died  Aug.  15,  1854.     He  had  by  her  — 
iv.    Eliza, 
v.   Mary, 
vi.   Daniel, 
vn.    Serena'. 

45-  JOHN  USHER  (see  22)  of  Medford  was  born 
in  1766;  married  Susan,  daughter  of  Eben  Brooks, 
in  1789,  and  had  — 

Susan -Brooks,  b.  1790;  m.,  ist,  Seth 
Wyman,  April  26,  1810;  and,  2d,  Ben- 
jamin Pratt. 

46.  ELEAZAR  USHER  (see  22)  of  Medford  was 
born  Nov.  23,  1770.  He  died  in  Lynn,  April  9, 
1852.  He  married  Fanny  Bucknam,  Oct.  6,  1799. 
She  was  born  March  13,  1780,  and  died  Dec.  23, 
1848.  Her  pedigree  is  as  follows.  She  descended 
from  — 

(1)  William  Bucknam, who,  born  in  1602, became 
a  freeman  at  Charlestown  in   1647,  but  moved  to 
Maiden.     He  had  a  son  — 

(2)  Joses  Bucknam  of  Maiden,  who  was  born  in 
1641,  and  died  Aug.  24,  1694.     He,  in  turn,  had  a 
son  — 

(3)  Joses   Bucknam   of  Maiden,  who  was  born 
Jan.,  1666,  and  died  April  5,   1741.     He  married, 
Feb.  24,  1690,  Hannah,  daughter  of  John  Peabody, 
and,  in  turn,  had  a  son  — 

(4)  Joses  Bucknam   of  Maiden,  who  was  born 
April  17,  1692,  and  by  his  wife  Phoebe  had  a  son  — 

(5)  Moses  Bucknam,  who  was  born  in  Maiden, 
Oct.   1 6,  1733.      He    removed  to  Charlestown   in 


GENEALOGY.  103 

1787.     He  married  Borridel  Green,  Jan.  18,  1759. 
His  children  were  — 

i.    Borridel,  b.  Nov.  14,  1759. 
n.    Sarah,  b.  Sept.  15,  1761. 
in.   Deborah,  b.  Nov.  15,  1763. 
iv.   Moses,  b.  April  30,  1766. 
v.   Leonard,  b.  Oct.  6,  1768;   d.  Nov.  29, 
1849.    He  married  Anna  Adams,  April 
9,  1799,  who  died  Oct.  2,  1835. 
vi.    Spencer,  b.  Jan.  22,  1772.     He  married 

Mary  Frost,  Nov.  9,  1794. 
vn.   Nancy,  b.  March  i,  1778.     She  married 

Joseph  Tufts,  Jr.,  Jan.  8,  1797. 
vin.   FANNY,  b.  March  13,  1780. 
Thus  Eleazer  Usher,  the  youngest  of  a  family  of 
ten  children,  married  Fanny  Bucknam,  the  youngest 
of  a  family  of  eight  children.     They  had   eleven 
children  — 

73.  i.  John-Gardner,  b.  Sept.  5,  1800. 

74.  n.    Sarah-Bucknam,  b.  Dec.  26,  1802. 

75.  in.    Fanny-Bucknam,  b.  Oct.  13,  1804. 

76.  iv.    Mary- Ann,  b.  Feb.  2,  1806. 

77.  v.   Lydia-Cutter,  b.  Feb.  14,  1808. 

78.  vi.   Eleazar,  b.  Aug.  25,  1810. 

79.  vii.   Nancy- Adams,  b.  May  3,  1812. 

80.  vin.  James-Madison,  b.  Nov.  12,  1814. 

81.  ix.    Leonard-Bucknam,  b.  March  3,1817. 

82.  x.    Henry-Weston,  b.  Aug.  27,  1819. 

83.  xi.    Roland-Greene,  b.  Jan.  6,  1823. 


104  GENEALOGT. 

SIXTH   GENERATION. 

47.  GEORGE-FINNEY  USHER  (see  24)  of  Bristol, 
was  born  Oct.  22,  1792,  and  died  Aug.  17,  1877. 
He  married,  ist,  in  1817,  Susan-Maria,  daughter  of 
Alexander-Viets  Griswold,  Bishop  of  the  Eastern 
Diocese  of  Connecticut.     She  was  born  1797,  and 
died  July  29,  1825.     He  had  by  her  — 

i.  Elizabeth-Griswold,  b.  May  24,  1818;  m.> 
in  1839,  Joseph  A.  Sprague;  d.  Sept.  23, 
1879. 

He   married,   2d,  in   1833,  Rebecca,  daughter   of 
Allen  and   Elizabeth   Bourn.      She  was   born    in 
1810,  and  died  June  17,  1842.     He  had  by  her  — 
ii.    Helen-Maria,  b.  Aug.  17,  1834;  d.  Dec.  10, 

1892. 

HI.  Irene-Frances,  b.  Dec.  8,  1838. 
He  married,  3d,  Emily  F.  French,  Sept.  22,  1857. 
She  was  born  in  1826.  His  daughter  Irene  writes 
me  that  Archbishop  Usher,  as  shown  in  the  well- 
known  engraving  based  on  the  Oxford  portrait, 
"  looks  enough  like  my  father  to  be  a  twin  brother." 
The  Archbishop  was  born  in  1580,  died  March  21, 
1656,  and  was  buried  in  Westminster  Abbey.  His 
physical  reappearance  in  the  family  two  hundred 
years  later  is  a  curious  fact. 

48.  ALLEN  THOMAS  USHER  (see  26)  of  Bristol 
was  born  in  1806,  married  Mary  Wardwell  in  1833, 
and  died  in  1874.     She  died  in  1876.     Their  chil- 
dren were  — 

92.        i.   Susan-J.,  b.  1834. 

n.  James,  b.  1835;  d.  July  28,  1840. 
in.    Mary-A.,  b.  1835. 


GENEALOGT.  io5 

iv.  Hezekiah-W.,  b.  1838;  d.  1863. 

93.  v.  Anna,  b.  1839. 

94.  vi.  Allen-T.,  b.  1844. 

vn.  Sarah-N.,  b.  1848;  d.  1851. 

95.  vin.  Sophia,  b.  1850. 

ix.  John-N.,  b.  18515  d.  1851. 
x.  Nathaniel-W.,  b.  1854. 

96.  xi.  James-M.,  b.  1855. 

49.  THOMAS  JEFFERSON   USHER   (see   26)   of 
Bristol  was  born  in   1811;    married   Elizabeth  J. 
Waldron  in  1836,  and  had  — 

97.  Thomas-Francis,  b.  1837. 

50.  ALLEN  USHER  (see  26)  of  Bristol  was  born 
Aug.  25,  1796,  and  died  at  sea  April,  1818.     He 
married  Ann  Blake,  and  had  — 

Allen. 

51.  JAMES  USHER  (see  28)  of  Bristol  was  born 
in   1789;   married  Susan  Cox,  who  died  Dec.   10, 
1840,  aged  52.     He  was  Lieutenant  of  the  privateer 
"Yankee,"  which  went  into  commission   in  July, 
1812.     In  her  first  cruise  of  less  than  three  months 
she  captured  ten  prizes,  taking  or  destroying  nearly 
half  a  million  dollars'  worth  of  property.     His  share 
of  prize  money  on  that  first  cruise  was  nearly  six 
thousand  dollars.     He  died   in  1829,  leaving  one 
daughter  — 

Mary. 

52.  WILLIAM  H.  USHER  (see  29)  of  Bristol  was 
born  in  1802;   married  Phoebe  H.  Maxfield,  Aug. 
23,  1828.     He  died  in  1885.     Children  were  — 

98.     i.  John,  b.  Feb.  3,  1831. 

n.    Mary-Elizabeth,  b.  March   i,  1838;  d. 
May  23,  1873;  m.  F.  W.  Tanner. 


io6  GENEALOGY. 

53.  BENJAMIN  B.  USHER  (see  29)  of  Bristol  was 
born  in  1804;   married  Abby  W.  Peck,  Sept.   16, 
1838.     He  died  in  1885.     Children  were  — 

i.    Mary- Abby,  b.  June  7,  1839. 

ii.  Elizabeth-B.,  b.  June  7, 1841 ;  d.  1893. 
His  wife  died  April  10,  1848.  He  married,  2d, 
Sarah  A.  Talbot,  Nov.  23,  1848. 

54.  JOHN  PALMER  USHER  (see  33)  of  Indiana 
was  born  Jan.  9,   1816,  and  died  April   13,  1889. 
He  married,  June  26,  1844,  Margaret,  daughter  of 
General  Arthur  Patterson.    John  P.  Usher  was  very 
prominent  as  a  lawyer.     He  was  born  in  Brook- 
field,  N.Y.,  but  after  having  been  admitted  to  the 
bar  he  removed  to  Terre   Haute,  Ind.      He  was 
Attorney-General  of  that  State  for  many  years.     In 
1862,  he  was  made   First  Assistant  Secretary  of 
State  at  Washington,  and    held   that   place    until 
January,  1863,  when  he  became  Secretary  of  the 
Interior,  and  thus  a  member  of  President  Lincoln's 
Cabinet,  in  which  office  he  remained  until   May, 
1865.     He  resided  in  Lawrence,  Kan.,  at  the  time 
of  his  death.     His  children  were  — 

i.    Arthur-Patterson,  b.  Nov.   17,   1846; 

d.  June,  1886. 

n.  John-Palmer,  b.  Sept.  22,  1849. 
99.  in.    Linton-J.,  b.  Dec.  9,  1852. 

iv.    Samuel-Chambers,  b.  Nov.  7,  1855. 

55.  JAMES  S.  USHER  (see  35)  of  Spencer,  Mass., 
was  born  April  14,  1813;  married  Lucena  Sumner, 
Oct.    1 8,    1837.      She    was    daughter   of  William 
Sumner,  who  married  Lucena  Fletcher.     She  was 
born  April  2, 1814,  and  died  Feb.  9,  1871.    James  S. 


GENEALOGY.  107 

died  May  8, 1853,  when  his  widow,  Lucena,  married 
Hiram  Marsh,  Aug.  21,  1858.     Children  — 
i.   William-D.,  b.  Aug.  4,  1839. 
ii.  James-Henry,  b.  Nov.  4,  1842. 
in.    Charles-Edward,  b.  May  8,  1845. 
iv.  John-Sumner,  b.  Oct.  29,  1847. 
v.  Julia-Maria,  b.  Sept.  6,  1850. 

56.  ELISHA  M.  USHER  (see  35)  of  Marblehead, 
Mass.,  was  born  Sept.  12,  1815;  married,  Dec.  26, 
1838,  Rebecca  D.,  daughter  of  Edward  and  Mary-E. 
Elkins  of  Smithfield,  R.I.,  and  had  — 

i.    Edward-M.,  b.  Dec.  29,  1840. 
ii.    Horace-B.,  b.  Nov.  25,  1842. 
in.    Sarah-A.,  b.  Nov.  28,  1845;   d.  Aug. 

24,  1846. 

iv.   Timothy-A.-T.,  b.  Dec.  13,  1849. 
v.    Rebecca-D.,  b.  Aug.  3, 1855 ;  d.  Sept. 
H?  1855. 

57.  JOSEPH  USHER  (see  35)  of  North  Uxbridge, 
Mass.,  was  born  April  17,  1821;  married,  ist,  Dec. 
25,  1844,  Susan  R.  Hall,  and  had  — 

i.    Anna-June,  b.  July  6,  1848. 
n.    Eugene-John,  b.  Oct.  5,  1851;  d.  Dec. 

17,  1856. 

His  wife  died  June   i,  1856,  and  he  married,  2d, 
April  23,  1857,  Elvira  Wheelock. 

58.  STEPHEN  USHER  (see  35)  of  East  Brookfield, 
Mass.,  was  born  Feb.  5,   1827;   married,  June   ii, 
1851,  Roxana  Mullet,  and  had  — 

George-H.,  b.  July  30,  1853. 

59.  ROBERT  OLIVER  USHER  (see  36)  of  Cov- 
ington,  Ga.,  was    born    April    25,    1809;    married 
Fanny  Colbert,  Dec.  17,  1839. 


io8  GENEALOGY. 

60.  CHARLES  CLEVELAND  USHER  (see  36)  of 
Brunswick,  Ga.,  was  born  June  16,  1818;  married 
Amelia- Augusta  Barnes  (b.  Aug.  29,  1834),  Feb. 
20,  1854. 

61.  SELDEN    USHER   (see   37)   of   Higganum, 
Conn.,  was  born  Feb.  23,  1806;   married  Sarah  J. 
Hubbard,  Feb.  5,  1833,  and  had  — 

i.   Melissa,  b.  Sept.  8,  1835. 
ii.  Jerusha,  b.  Dec.  9,  1837. 
HI.    Cyron,  b.  Oct.  29,  1849. 

62.  NEWELL   F.  USHER  (see  38)  of  Sheridan, 
N.Y.,  was  born  March  31,  1798,  and  died  March, 
1870;    married,  ist,  Anna  Ischam,  Oct.  17,   1821, 
and  had  — 

i.    Ozro-P.,  b.  Aug.  20,  1824;  d.  Jan. 

7,  !848. 
ii.    Betsy-A.,  b.  Nov.  5,1825 ;  m.  Frank 

Perkins,  May  26,  1847. 
in.    Chauncy-A.,  b.  Sept.  13.  1828;   d. 
Oct.  i,  1845. 

118.  iv.    Lescomb-R.,  b.  July  13,  1831. 

119.  v.    Frederic-Rosaloo,  b.  Sept.  30, 1841. 
His  wife  dying  in   1846,  he   married,   2d,  Fanny 
Smith,  Feb.  25,  1847.     She  died   in   1875.     They 
had  — 

vi.    Fanny-Maria, )  b.  Aug.  )  d.Oct.  31,1850. 

vii.   Anna-Sophia,  J  19,1849;  j  d.Nov.22,i85o. 

viii.  Flora- Adele,  b.  March  14,185 1 ;  m.  Walter 
H.  Deland,  April  18,  1873.  He  died 
June  19,  1881.  They  had  one  child, 
Esther-Viola,  b.  May  17,  1874;  d.  June 
i,  1883. 


GENEALOGT.  109 

63.  WILLIAM  USHER  (see  38)  of  East  Hamilton, 
N.Y.,  was   born    Sept.  6,  1799;    married    Rosetta 
Foote,  May  26,  1824.      She  was  born   Sept.   13, 
1803,  and  died  Dec.  26,  1853.     They  had  — 

i.    Cordelia-R.,  b.  Jan.  28,  1827. 
100.    ii.   Devereau-W.,  b.  Dec.  18,  1831. 

HI.   Ambrosia-L.,  b.  March  25,  1835;  d. 
July  13,  1836. 

64.  HORACE  USHER  (see  38)  of  East  Hamilton, 
N.Y.,  was  born  Nov.  22,  1801,  and  died  Sept.  29, 
1879;  married  Olive  Brainard,  Nov.  28, 1830.     She 
was  born  Nov.  17,  1803,  and  died  March  9,  1884. 
They  had  — 

i.  E.-Corydon,  b.  Jan.  28, 1832;  m.  Elizabeth 
M.  Nye,  Aug.  28,  1853;  no  children. 

n.  O.-Lueyne,  b.  Sept.  2,1833  j  d.  May  7,1843. 
in.  A.-Maritta,  b.  April  6,  1837. 

iv.  Guert-G.,  b.  Dec.  7,  1843;  m.  Elizabeth 
Tinker,  Oct.  9,  1867;  no  children. 

v.  R.-Melville,b.  Sept.  8,1846;  m.  Ella  Louise 
Blanding,  Jan.  21,  1880;  no  children. 

65.  ROBERT  R.  USHER  (see  38)  of  East  Hamil- 
ton, N.Y.,  was  born  Dec.  31,  1812,  and  died  Nov. 
7,  1890;  married  Ursula  Felton,  Oct.  7, 1838.     She 
died  Sept.,  1891.     They  had  — 

Martha-S.,  b.  Aug.  28, 1853 ;  d.  Dec.  30,1855. 

66.  ELLIS   BAKER  USHER  (see  42)  of  Hollis, 
Me.,  was  born  Nov.  7, 1785,  and  died  May  21, 1855. 
His  father  gave,  in  1799^0  each  of  his  sons,  Ellis  B. 
and  Abijah,  a  horse;  and,  at  the  ages  of  twelve  and 
ten,  respectively,  they  left  Medford,  and  went  on 
horseback  to    seek  their  fortunes    in    Hollis,  Me. 


no  GENEALOGY. 

Ellis  went  into  the  employ  of  Colonel  Isaac  Lane, 
and  when  nineteen  years  old  had  saved  enough  to 
buy  a  farm,  which  he  gave  to  his  father,  who  then 
came  to  live  in  Hollis.  This  farm  is  still  in  the 
family.  Ellis  B.  Usher  became  a  very  prominent 
man.  He  was  for  many  years  the  leading  lumber- 
man on  the  Saco  River.  He  left  a  large  estate, 
despite  the  fact  that  during  the  panic  of  1837  he 
paid  nearly  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  to  meet 
his  indorsements  of  other  men's  notes.  He  was 
Town  Clerk,  1816-1818.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Maine  Constitutional  Convention,  and  a  signer 
of  the  Constitution.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the 
Maine  Senate.  He  married,  ist,  Nov.  12,  1812, 
Rebecca  Randall,  who  died  June  4,  1819.  By  her 
he  had  — 

i.    Henry-E.,  b.  Feb.  14,1 814;  d.  April 

27,  1827. 
n.    Benjamin-Jones-Randall,  b.  Dec.  25 , 

1815;  d.  Dec.  23,  1816. 
in.    Sarah-Ellen-Randall,    b.    Oct.    20, 
1817;  m.,  ist,  Horace  Sand;  2d, 
Dr.  Elbridge  Bacon. 

He  married,  2d,  Nov.  26,  1820,  Hannah,  daughter 
of  Colonel  Isaac  Lane.  She  was  born  Jan.  i,  1795. 
By  her  he  had  — 

iv.    Rebecca-Randall,  b.  Aug.  31, 1821. 
v.    Martha-Hooper,  b.  May  i,  1823;  d. 
Feb.  27,  1893;  m.  Dr.  Joseph  G. 
Osgood,  Sept.  27,  1848. 
101.      vi.    Isaac-Lane,  b.  May  12,  1825. 

vii.  Jane-Maria-Lane,  b.  Dec.  i,  1828; 
d.  Aug.  5,  1832. 


GENEALOGY.  in 

vin.    Hannah-Lane,  b.  Sept.  i,  1831;  d. 

Aug.  21,  1832. 
ix.    Mary,  b.  July  21,  1833;  d.  Aug.  8, 

1833- 
x.  Jane-Maria-Bradley,    b.    Oct.     12, 

1836;   m.  Judge  Nathan  Webb, 
June  17,  1867. 

67.  ABIJAH  USHER  (see  42)  of  Hollis,  Me.,  was 
born  Dec.  22,  1788,  and  died  Feb.  n,  1841.     He 
was   Selectman,    1839-1840.      He    married    Susan 
Nason,  who  was  born  Jan.  22,   1790.     By  her  he 
had  — 

i.    Susan-D.,  b.  Feb.  2,  1811;  d.  Oct. 
10,  1855;  m'  Philbrick  Abbot. 

102.  n.   Abijah,  b.  F*b.  2,  1813. 

in.    Cyrus-K.,  b.  March   25,   1816;   d. 

March  n,  1842. 
iv.    Sarah-E.,  b.  March   10,   1818;    m. 

Joseph  Ridlon. 

103.  v.    Ellis-Baker,  b.  Dec.  26,  1819. 

vi.    Mary-Ann-K.,  b.    Nov.   n,   1821; 

m.  Mark  Hutchins. 
vii.    Emily-C.,b.  Feb.  22,1824;  d. March 

20,  1852;  m.  Amos  Boulter,  Jan. 

5.  '852. 

104.  vin.    Henry-A.,  b.  Sept.  9,  1826. 

ix.    Dorcas-M.,  b.  March  23,  1829;  m. 

John  Carll. 

x.    Napoleon-Bonaparte,    b.    June    6, 
1832;  d.  Feb.  9,  1833. 

68.  MARY  RUGGLES  USHER  (see  42)  was  born 
1789,  and  married  John  Lane  of  Hollis,  Me.     She 
died  in  1841.     Her  children  were  — 


ii2  GENEALOGT. 

i.    Mary-No well-Sumner,  b.  May  25,  1812; 

d.  May,  1890;  m.  Rev.  William  Pierce. 

ii.    Stephen-Palmer,  b.  1814;  m.,  ist,  Mary  F. 

Hobson;  2d,  Alice  Sims. 
in.    Charles-Usher,    b.    1816;    m.    Maria    M. 

Anderson, 
iv.  John-Woodman,    b.    1818;    d.    1889;    m. 

Catherine  Thomas, 
v.    Rebecca-Kidder,  b.  June  4,  1821 ;  d.  Nov., 

1821. 

vi.  Almeda-Caroline,  b.  April  7,  1823;  m. 
Walter  Higgins  of  Washington,  D.C., 
and  had  Almeda-Maria,  b.  1851;  Re- 
becca-Lane, b.  1854;  Harriet-Walter, 
b.  1857;  Mary-Usher,  b.  1861. 
vii.  Marquis  de  Lafayette,  b.  June  n,  1825;  d. 
Sept.  15,  1872;  m.  Elizabeth  T.  Chad- 
bourne.  He  was  United  States  Consul 
at  Vera  Cruz  from  1862  till  1867.  At 
the  time  of  his  death  he  was  Judge  of 
the  Superior  Court.  He  lived  in  Port- 
land, Me. 

vin.    Susan-Maria,  b.  Nov.  1830. 
ix.    Ellen-Boardman,  b.  March    i,    1832;    m. 

Charles  W.  Snow. 

69.   ROBERT    USHER  (see   43)  of    Merrimack, 
N.H.,  and  Buxton,  Me.,  was  born  in  1787;  married, 

ist,  Lydia ;  and,  2d,  Susan  McDonald  in  1811, 

and  had  — 

i.  Miriam-M.,  b.  1813;  m.  Rev.  Isaac  Libby, 

1833- 
n.  Benjamin-M.,  b.  1815. 


GENEALOGY.  113 

in.    Scolly-G., b.  1819;  m.  Rebecca  Bliss,  1846. 
iv.    Elizabeth-B.,  b.iSzi ;  m.  Jabez  M.  Latham, 

1840. 
v.    Caroline-M.,  b.  1 823 ;  m.  Anthony  Boothby, 

1842. 

He  died  Oct.  22,  1824.     His  widow  (b.  1788)  died 
Sept.  10,  1852. 

70.  ATHERTON    USHER  (see   43)  of  Gorham, 
Me.,  married,  and  had  — 

i.    George, 
n.    Mary-Elizabeth, 
in.    Sarah;  m. William  Sweetser, Jr., Nov. 

26,  1812. 
iv.    Elizabeth. 

71.  SCOLLY  USHER  (see  43)  of  Buxton,  Me., 
married,  and  had  — 

i.    George-Washington, 
ii.    Alonzo. 

72.  LUTHER  USHER  (see  43)  married    Esther 
Noble,  and  had  — 

i.    Scolly. 
ii.    Esther-Ann. 

73.  JOHN  GARDNER  USHER  (see  46)  of  Win- 
chester, Mass.,  was  born  Sept.  5,   1800,  and  died 
Feb.  2,  1859.     He  married,  in   1826,  Mary  Copps 
George,  who  was  born  March  21,  1804,  and  died 
Jan.  24,  1879.     He  had  two  children;  viz., — 

i.    George,  who  died  in  infancy. 
105.  ii.    Helen-Marr,  b.  March  17,  1829. 

74.  SARAH  BUCKNAM  USHER  (see  46)  of  Med- 
ford,  Mass.,  was  born  Dec.  26,  1802.     She  married 
John  Wade,  Dec.  26,  1822.     He  was  son  of  Major 
John  Wade,  and  was  born  Dec.  20,  1800,  and  died 


n4  GENEALOGY. 

Dec.  4,   1826.     She   died   in    1832.     Her  children 
were  — 

i.  John,  b.  Jan.   5,    1824.      He  went  to 
California,  where  he  died  unmarried, 
ii.    Andrew,  b.  Sept.  10,  1825. 

75.  FANNY  BUCKNAM  USHER  (see  46)  of  Med- 
ford,  Mass.,  was  born  Oct.   13,  1804,  and  died  in 
1838.     She  married  William  Griffin,  Nov.  24, 1825. 
He  was  son  of  Joshua  Griffin,  who  married  Abigail 
Butters.     He  was  born  Feb.  7,  1802,  at  Haverhill, 
and  died  at  Medford,  July  30,  1835.     Her  children 
by  him  were  — 

i.    William,  b.  May  20,  1827;    d.  Aug.   17, 
1882.     He  married  Sarah  Jane  Mudge, 
Nov.  28, 1850,  and  had  one  son,William- 
Winslow,  who  was  born  Feb.  27,  1855. 
ii.    Fanny,  b.  April  4,  1829. 
HI.    Sarah- Wade,  b.  Oct.  25 , 1 83 1 .    She  married 

William  W.  Gage,  Aug.  27,  1846. 
iv.   Augustus-Plummer,  b.  Feb.  8,  1833. 
v.    David-Howe,  b.  Nov.  8,  1835. 
She  married,  then,  Noah  Hooper  Smith,  March  8, 
1836,  and  by  him  had  one  child  — 
vi.    Edward-Everett,  b.  1837. 

76.  MARY  ANN  USHER  (see  46)  of  Lynn,  Mass., 
was  born  Feb.  2,  1806.     She  married,  ist,  Francis 
Wade,  April  19,  1826,  and  by  him  had  — 

i.    George. 

ii.   Mary-Ann. 

HI.   Frank. 

She  married,  2d,  Archibald  S.  Hulen,  Oct.  5,  1840, 
but  had  no  issue  by  him.  He  died  March  26, 1864. 
She  died  March  29,  1883. 


GENEALOGY.  115 

77.  LYDIA  CUTTER  USHER  (see  46)  was  born 
Feb.  14, 1808.     She  married  Arley  Plummer,  April 
15,  1828.     He  was  son  of  Abel,  and  was  born  in 
Londonderry,  N.H.,  Jan.  20,  1798,  where  he  died 
Jan.  10,  1879.     She  died  at  Somerville,  Mass.,  Nov. 
10,  1889.     Her  children  were  — 

i.    Arley- Augustus,  b.  Dec.  29,  1828;  d. 

March  25,  1830. 

ii.    Frances-Augusta, )  b.  March  22,1830. 
in.    Lydia-Elizabeth,    j  d.  March  25,1830. 

78.  ELEAZAR  USHER  (see  46)  of  Lynn,  Mass., 
was  born  Aug.  25,  1810,  and  died  Jan.  4,  1881. 
He  married  Jane  K.  Hartwell,  April  6,  1840.     She 
was  born   Sept.  10,  1820,  and  died  Aug.  7,  1879. 
His  children  were  — 

106.  i.    Charles-Nelson,  b.  Sept.  20,  1841. 
ii.    George-Hulen,  b.  Jan.  25,  1844;   d. 

Nov.  27,  1860. 

in.    Pamela-Ann,  b.  Sept.  17,  1846;    d. 
Nov.  8,  1848. 

107.  iv.   Warren-Hulen,  b.  Aug.  18,  1848. 

108.  v.  John-Gardner,  b.  Aug.  27,  1853. 

79.  NANCY  ADAMS  USHER  (see  46)  was  born 
May  3,  1812.     She  married  Charles  Pinkney  Phil- 
brick,  Aug.  29,  1833.     He  was  son  of  Benjamin, 
and  was  born  at  Rye,  N.H.,  Oct.  4,  1799.     He  died 
in  Boston,  Dec.  7,  1891.     She  died  Dec.  14,  1842. 
Her  children  were  — 

i.  Georgianna,  b.  Dec.  3, 1835.  She  married 
Frederick  William  Smith,  Jr.,  of  Boston, 
Nov.  25,  1868,  and  had  one  child,  Otis- 
Usher,  who  was  born  Oct.  25,  1872. 


n6  GENEALOGY. 

ii.  Henrietta,  b.  Feb.  26, 1837.  She  married, 
Feb.  4, 1858,  Albert  Morse,  who  resides 
in  Boston. 

in.  Charles-Mason,  b.  Jan.  26,  1840. 
iv.  Anna-Cora,  b.  Dec.  6,  1842.  She  married, 
Jan.  28,  1863,  William  Harrison  Hadley. 
80.  Rev.  JAMES  MADISON  USHER  (see  46)  of 
Medford,  Mass.,  was  born  Nov.  12,  1814.  He  was 
ordained  as  a  Universalist  minister  Dec.  i,  1839. 
He  was  a  fluent  and  effective  public  speaker,  and 
was  very  prominent  in  the  work  of  his  church 
denomination.  For  many  years  he  kept  a  book- 
store on  Cornhill  in  Boston,  chiefly  in  the  interest 
of  the  Universalist  Church.  He  was  an  enthusi- 
astic friend  of  the  temperance  cause.  In  1851, 1857, 
and  1858,  he  was  a  member  of  the  State  Senate,  and 
for  some  years  was  in  the  House  of  Representatives. 
In  1850,  he  was  Grand  Master  of  the  Massachusetts 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  In  1867,  he  was  Com- 
missioner from  Massachusetts  to  the  Paris  Exposi- 
tion. From  January,  1864,  to  November,  1872,  he 
published  The  Nation,  a  weekly  newspaper  devoted 
to  the  cause  of  temperance.  When  it  started  it 
was  the  only  paper  of  its  kind  in  the  State,  and 
the  only  one  of  any  prominence  in  New  England. 
He  prepared  and  published,  in  1886,  a  "  History  of 
Medford." 

In  the  proceedings  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Odd 
Fellows  held  in  Boston  in  February,  1892,  an 
elaborate  testimonial  to  the  memory  of  James 
M.  Usher  was  spread  upon  the  records,  as 
follows :  — 


GENEALOGY.  117 

"The  name  and  memory  of  James  M.  Usher, 
Past  Grand  Master  of  this  Grand  Lodge,  is  held  in 
reverence  and  respect  by  the  whole  brotherhood,  of 
which  he  was  one  of  the  brightest  and  most  talented 
members.  His  sympathetic  nature,  his  cordiality, 
and  his  manliness  were  traits  of  character  that  at 
once  commanded  the  admiration  of  all  who  were 
favored  with  his  presence,  and  when  once  you  had 
his  confidence  it  was  forever.  Our  province  is  to 
speak  of  him  as  a  member  of  this  Order;  but  should 
we  choose  to  broaden  our  tribute,  we  could  truth- 
fully say  that  few  citizens  of  our  Commonwealth 
had  for  over  half  a  century  been  more  active  in 
various  capacities  as  a  merchant,  minister,  pub- 
lisher, counsellor,  commissioner,  lecturer,  and  a 
multiplicity  of  work  that  marks  a  man  as  imbued 
with  public  spirit  and  general  interest  in  a  common 
cause.  His  presence  was  always  manifest  by  his 
distinguished  appearance  —  somewhat  above  me- 
dium height,  well  proportioned,  erect  in  carriage, 
affable  in  manner,  and  eloquent  in  speech.  He 
truly  was  in  every  way  a  Roman.  In  our  associa- 
tion he  inhaled  that  inspiration  that  gave  full  scope 
to  his  natural  talent,  and  his  conclusions  could  only 
be  drawn  from  what  the  heart  felt.  He  was  gener- 
ous even  to  a  degree  that  might  to  some  seem  a 
failing.  He  was  just  because  he  was  honest.  He 
was  lovable  because  it  was  his  nature.  He  was 
forgiving.  He  made  friends  and  retained  them  by 
his  many  good  qualities. 

"By  his  extensive  experience,  genial  manner, 
ready  wit,  and  valuable  advice  he  won  and  retained 


n8  GENEALOGY. 

the  grateful  appreciation  and  sincere  regard  of  its 
membership,  and  no  brother  will  be  more  gen- 
erally missed. 

"He  was  admitted  to  the  Grand  Lodge  in  1845, 
where  he  was  soon  recognized  for  his  zeal  in  its 
work.  On  Aug.  i,  1850,  Brother  Usher  was  elected 
to  the  office  of  Grand  Master. 

"  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add  that  those  brothers 
of  the  Grand  Lodge  who  were  interested  at  the 
above  dates,  and  who  are  yet  active  with  us,  bear 
testimony  of  Brother  Usher's  wise  influence,  atten- 
tion to  duty,  and  acceptable  service  in  the  exalted 
position  he  occupied.  After  he  retired  from  office 
he  was  still  attentive,  yet  other  duties  and  active 
business  pressed  him  for  time,  and  he  could  not 
devote  to  it  that  personal  attention  he  ardently 
wished.  But  as  years  lengthened  with  him  and 
less  tax  was  made  upon  his  time,  he  again  joined 
the  active  force  and  was  constant  in  his  attendance 
at  the  sessions  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  ever  ready  to 
take  part  in  our  deliberations  and  to  lend  his  influ- 
ence and  power  to  further  the  sublime  mission  of 
Odd  Fellowship.  His  honesty  of  purpose  and  long 
identity  with  the  Fraternity  will  be  cherished  by 
us,  and  always  with  a  sweet  recollection  of  one 
who  was  of  us  a  part. 

"Brother  Usher  was  buried  at  Mt.  Auburn  on 
Sunday,  Jan.  3,  1892.  Public  funeral  services 
were  held  at  his  late  residence  at  West  Medford, 
and  were  largely  attended  by  the  brotherhood. 
Bay  State  Lodge  No.  40  rendered  the  ritualistic 
burial  service  of  the  Order.  Harmony  Lodge 


GENEALOGY.  119 

No.  68  of  Medford  and  Mt.  Vernon  Lodge  No.  186 
of  West  Medford  were  represented  as  a  body,  and 
a  delegation  of  Grand  Officers,  Past  Grand  Officers, 
and  members  of  this  Grand  Lodge.  It  was  one  of 
the  most  largely  attended  funerals  that  had  ever 
taken  place  in  Medford,  as  well  as  one  of  the  most 
impressive.  In  accord  with  our  fraternal  expres- 
sion of  respect,  love,  and  esteem,  be  it 

"  Resolved,  That  in  the  death  of  Brother  James  M.  Usher 
this  Grand  Lodge  and  the  Order  universal  have  lost  an  able, 
beloved,  and  honored  brother." 

He  married,  June  n,  1838,  Pamela  Pray.     She 
was  born  June  17,  1819,  and  died  Oct.  20,  1890. 
He  died  Dec.  31,  1891.     His  children  were  — 
109.      i.  James-Franklin,  b.  Oct.  i,  1839. 

ii.   Roland-Greene,  b.  Sept.   n,   1843; 

d.  April  5,  1857. 
in.   Pamela,  b.  Sept.  15,  1847;  d.  Sept. 

29,  1847. 
iv.    Mary-Florence,  b.  July  n,  1850;  d. 

Oct.  15,  1869. 

81.  LEONARD  BUCKNAM  USHER  (see  46)  of 
Lynn,  Mass.,  was  born  March  3,  1817.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen  in  1852,  and 
of  the  Common  Council  in  1857.  He  was  Post- 
master from  1858  to  1861.  He  married,  May  n, 
1843,  Lydia  Mansfield  Jacobs.  She  was  born  July 
24,  1819,  and  was  daughter  of  Benjamin  H.  Jacobs, 
who  married  Elizabeth  Downing.  His  children 
were  — 

i.    George-Leonard,  b.    May   5,  1844; 
d.  Aug.  26,  1844. 


120  GENEALOGY. 

110.  n.    Frederick-Wellington,  b. Oct. 5, 1847. 

111.  in.    Fannie-Elizabeth,  b.  Nov.  22,  1850. 
iv.   Leonard-Bucknam,  b.  Jan.  21,  1852; 

d.  Aug.  23,  1852. 

112.  v.   Addie-Gertrude,  b.  Jan.  10,  1856. 
vi.    Lydia-Ann,  b.  Sept.  29,  1860. 

82.  HENRY  WESTON  USHER  (see  46)  of  New 
York  was  born  Aug.   27,  1819.      He  joined  the 
Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery  Company  in  1845, 
served  as  Sergeant  from  1847  until  1853,  when  he 
became  Lieutenant.     In  1854,  on  the  organization 
of  the   Lawrence   Light  Guards  of  Medford,  he 
became  the  first  Captain   of  that  Company.     For 
very  many  years  he  was  the  manager  of  one  of  the 
departments  in  the  great  dry  goods  establishment 
of  A.  T.  Stewart  in  New  York.     He  married,  Jan. 
23,  1842,  Deborah  Sampson  Cook.     She  was  born 
Sept.  27,  1819,  and  was  daughter  of  Levi  Cook, 
who   married   Priscilla  Sampson.     He  died  Nov. 
26,  1879.     His  children  were  — 

i.    Ella-Gertrude,  b.  June  26,  1845. 
ii.   Ida-Louise,  b.  Sept.  21,  1847. 
in.   Horace-Henry,  b.  Dec.  17,  1850;  d. 

Nov.  10,  1878. 
iv.    Arthur-Howard,   b.  Aug.    31,   1853; 

d.  July  8,  1877. 
v.    Alice-Jeannette,  b.  April  9,  1856;  d. 

April  3,  1879. 
vi.  Jennie-Evelyn,  b.  June   7,    1862;    d. 

Aug.  13,  1863. 

83.  ROLAND  GREENE  USHER  (see  46)  of  Lynn, 
Mass.,  was  born  Jan.  6,  1823.     He  died  March  5, 


GENEALOGT.  121 

1895.  He  was  a  member  of  Lynn  Common  Coun- 
cil, 1852  and  1853;  Alderman, 1 859  and  1860;  Major 
in  the  United  States  Army,  1861-1866;  Mayor  of 
Lynn,  1866,  1867,  and  1868;  Member  of  Governor's 
Council,  1868,  1869,  and  1870;  United  States 
Marshal,  District  of  Massachusetts,  1871-1879; 
Warden  Massachusetts  State  Prison,  1883-1886. 
He  married,  June  5,  1844,  Caroline  Matilda 
Mudge.  She  was  born  Dec.  22,  1821,  and  was 
the  daughter  of  Daniel  Lee  Mudge.  Her  lineage 
is  as  follows :  — 

(1)  Thomas    Mudge,   born    in    1624,   came    to 
Maiden  about  1650.     He  had  a  son  — 

(2)  John  Mudge,  born  at  Maiden,  1654,  and  died 
Oct.  29,  1733.     He  married  Ruth  Burditt,  who  was 
born  1666,  and  died  Oct.  17,  1733.     He  had,  in  his 
turn,  a  son  — 

(3)  John  Mudge,  who  was  born  at  Maiden,  Nov. 
21,  1686,  and  died  Nov.  26,  1762.     He  had,  in  his 
turn,  a  son  — 

(4)  John  Mudge,  who  was  born  in  Maiden,  Dec. 
30,  1713,  but  removed  in  1748  to  Lynnfield,  where 
he  died  Nov.  26,  1762.     He  married  Mary  Waite, 
May  4,  1738.     He  had  a  son  — 

(5)  Enoch  Mudge,  who  was  born  at  Lynnfield, 
Aug.  i,  1754,  and  moved  to  Lynn,  where  he  died 
Jan.  30,  1832.     He  married  Lydia  Ingalls,  Jan.  6, 

1773.  She  was  daughter  of  John  and  Abigail,  and 
was  born  May  22,  1756,  and  died  April  25,  1833. 
She  was  the  granddaughter  of  Edmund  Ingalls, 
who  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Lynn  in  1629. 
Enoch  had  a  son  — 


122  GENEALOGT. 

(6)  Daniel  Lee  Mudge,  who  was  born  Oct.  i, 
1793,  and  died  Dec.  3,  1872.  He  married,  June  4, 
1815,  Mary  Barry,  who  was  daughter  of  Joseph 
and  Mary.  She  was  born  Aug.  14,  1795,  and  died 
Sept.  21,  1831.  His  children  by  her  were  — 

i.    Oliver-Augustus,    b.    Feb.    13,    1816;    d. 
March  21,  1891.     He  married,  Oct.  18, 
1841,  Elizabeth  S.  Beach, 
n.    Mary-Ann,  b.  April  9, 1818;  d.  Sept.,  1882. 
She  married,  ist,  J.  W.  Downing,  July 
5,  1838.     He  died  Aug.  14,  1839.     2d, 
Stephen   H.   Gardiner,  April   17,  1844. 
He  died  March  22,  1891. 
in.   CAROLINE-MATILDA,  b.  Dec.  22,  1821. 
iv.    David-Bickford,  b.  April   24,  1825.     He 
married,  ist,  Lucy  A.  Kissam,  April  25, 
1861.    She  died  July  1,1877.    2 d,  Harriet 
Louise  Cragin,  March  12,  1879. 
v.    Martha-Ellen,  b.  Nov.  17, 1827.     She  mar- 
ried Sidney  I.  Breed,  Aug.  5,  1849. 
vi.    Sarah-Jane,  b.  Feb.  10,  1830.    She  married 

William  Griffin,  Nov.  28,  1850. 
The  children  of  Roland  Greene  Usher  were  — 

i.    Carolina- Anna,  b.  Dec.  5,  1847;   d. 

Nov.  6,  1848. 

ii.    Abbott-Lester,  b.  Aug.  19,  1849;  d. 
Nov.  13,  1854. 

113.  in.    Edward-Preston,  b.  Nov.  19,  1851. 

114.  iv.    Caroline-Mudge,  b.  March  28,  1855. 
84.  NATHANIEL  USHER  (see  33)  of  Brookfield, 

N.Y.,  was  born  Oct.  u,  1827,  and  died  Aug.  22, 
1873.  He  married  Pamela  E.  Woolverton,  Oct.  27, 
1853,  and  had  — 


GENEALOGT.  123 

115.     i.    Nathaniel-Reilly,  b.  April  7,  1855. 
n.   Edwin-McNamee,  b.  Oct.  27, 1856. 

85.  SAMUEL   USHER  (see  42)  of  Hollis,  Me., 
married  Jane  Murray,  and  had  — 

Irene. 

86.  JAMES  MADISON  USHER  (see  42)  of  Hollis, 
Me.,  was  born  in  1808,  and  died  Nov.  5, 1878.     He 
married,  in  1837,  Sarah  Usher  (see  43,  xn.),  and 
had  — 

Emeline,  b.  1839;  rn.  Jonas  Blackstone, 
Oct.  24,  1884. 

87.  ROBERT  S.  USHER  (see  42)  of  Hollis,  Me. 
He  was  Town   Clerk  in    1856;    died,    1889.      He 
married  Eunice  Strout,  and  had  — 

Mary-Ellen. 

88.  ELIZABETH  USHER  (see  43)  of  Sebago,  Me., 
was  born  in  1797;    died  Oct.   18,  1858.     Married 
William  Fitch,  and  had  — 

i.    Mary;  m.  Albert  Young. 

ii.    Lizzie-W.;  m. Nelson. 

in.    Lydia. 
iv.    Luther, 
v.    William, 
vi.    Charles, 
vn.   Ellis. 

89.  FANNY  USHER  (see  43)  was  born  Jan.  10, 
1800,  and    married    Isaac   McCorison.      She  died 
May  22,  1875.     She  had  — 

i.    Sarah,   b.   Oct.   26,   1820;    m.   Gardiner 

Moulton. 

n.  John,  b.  Aug.  i,  1822;  m.  Maria  Varney. 
in.    Lydia, b. Jan. 26,1824;  m. Joseph Rumery. 


i24  GENEALOGT. 

iv.   Robert-S.,  b.  May  1 1,1827  j  d. at  sea>  unm. 
v.   Mary,  b.  Nov.  9, 1830;  d.  Feb.  26,  1874; 

m.  John  Huff, 
vi.   George,  b.  July  31,  1832;   d.  Sept.  13, 

1864;  m.  Mary  Adair. 
vii.   Isaac,  b.  July  12,  1837;  d.  Oct.  21,  1860; 

m.  Rebecca  Whittier. 
vin.    Frances-A., b. March  16,1834;  m.  Samuel 

Nason. 

ix.  James,  b.  May  15, 1839;  d.  Oct.  26,  1850. 
x.    Olive,  b.  Aug.   25,    1828;    m.  John   G. 
Jones,  Sept.  i,  1844. 

90.  ABIGAIL   USHER  (see  43)  of  Hollis,  Me., 
married  Nathaniel  Haley,  and  had  — 

i.    Fanny;  m.  Nathan  Palmer. 

ii.  Mary;  m.  Joseph  Quincy. 
in.  Lydia;  m.  James  Rogers, 
iv.  Joseph. 

v.    Harriet;  m.  Ezra  Nason. 
vi.    Elizabeth;  m.  Nason  Bradeen. 
vii.   Lorena;  m.  Elisha  Davis. 

91.  BARNARD   USHER  (see   43)  of  Bridgeton, 
Me.,  was  born  May  6,  1805,  and  died  Jan.  14,  1888. 
He  married,  ist,  Louisa  Ingalls,  daughter  of  Isaiah 
and   Sarah   Ingalls.     She  died  Jan.  i,  1850.     He 
married,  2d,  Sabrina  M.  Davis,  daughter  of  David 
and  Martha.     She  was  born  in  1814.     His  children 
were  — 

116.  i.   Marshall,  b.  Dec.  3,  1835. 
n.  John-D.,  b.  1838;  d.  1841. 

117.  in.   Amelia-A.,  b.  Aug.  13,  1845. 


GENEALOGY.  125 

SEVENTH   GENERATION. 

92.  SUSAN  J.  USHER  (see  48)  of  Bristol,  R.I., 
was  born  in  1834,  and  died  in  1871.     She  married 
C.  J.  E.  Fales  in  1855.     He  died  in  1892.     Their 
children  were  — 

i.   Emma-C.,  b.  1856. 

n.  Ernest-E.,  b.  1860. 
in.  Hattie-M.,  b.  1862. 
iv.  Allen-T.,  b.  1865. 

93.  ANNA  USHER  (see  48)  of  Bristol,  R.I.,  was 
born  in  1839.     She  married,  in  1865,  J.  A.  Angell. 
He  died  in  1876.     Their  children  were  — 

i.   May,  b.  1866. 
n.    Bertha,  b.  1868. 
in.  John-W.,  b.  1870. 
iv.   Elsie,  b.  1874;  d.  1876. 

94.  ALLEN  T.  USHER  (see  48)  of  Bristol,  R.I., 
was  born  in  1844.     He  married  Lura  Brodhead  in 
1872. 

95.  SOPHIA  USHER  (see  48)  of  Bristol,  R.I. ,  was 
born  in  1850.     She  married  C.  B.  Pearse  in  1874, 

and  had  — 

i.    Carthagena,  b.  1875;  d.  1880. 
ii.    Mamie,  b.  1879. 
in.    Charles,  b.  1886. 

96.  JAMES  M.  USHER  (see  48)  of  Bristol,  R.I., 
was  born  in  1855.     He  married  Nellie  A.  Easter- 
brooks  in  1884,  and  had  — 

Allen-T.,  b.  1893. 

97.  THOMAS  F.  USHER  (see  49)  of  Bristol,  R.I., 
was  born  in  1837.     He  married  Ellen  V.  Easter- 
brooks,  Oct.  22,  1860,  and  had  — 


i26  GENEALOGT. 

i.    Aaron-F.,b.i86i ;  01.1893;  m.  Florence 

L.  Lindsay,  1885. 
n.    Charles-H.,  b.  1867. 

98.  JOHN  USHER  (see  52)  of  Bristol,  R.I.,  was 
born  Feb.  3, 1831.     He  married  Eliza  Mason,  Nov. 
30,  1854,  and  had  — 

130.  i.    William-H.,  b.  April  20,  1857. 

ii.    Phcebe-H.,   b.    Feb.    26,    1859;    m. 

John  H.  Davol. 
in.   Abby-E.,  b.  April  30,  1861. 

131.  iv.  John,  b.  Jan.  17,  1864. 

v.    Lena-E.,  b.  March  29, 1866;  d.  Aug. 

n,  1868. 
vi.    Alena-F.,  b.  May  13,  1872. 

99.  LINTON  J.  USHER  (see  54)  of  Lawrence, 
Kan.,  was  born  Dec.  9,  1852.     He  married  Lucy 
Dedrick,  Dec.  31,  1884.     She  died  Dec.  9,  1885. 
Their  child  was  — 

John-Linton,  b.  Sept.  16,  1885. 

100.  DEVEREAU  W.  USHER  (see  63)  of  East 
Hamilton,   N.Y.,   was   born    Dec.    18,   1831.      He 
married  Fidelia  Kinney,  Jan.,  1861,  and  had  — 

William-D.,  b.  Oct.,  1868. 

101.  ISAAC  LANE  USHER  (see  66)  of  Hollis, 
Me.,  and  La  Crosse,  Wis.,  was  born  May  12,  1825, 
and   died  Nov.   7,   1889.      He   married   Susannah 
Coffin  Woodman,  June  13,  1851.     She  died  Jan.  9, 
1880.     His  children  were  — 

120.      i.   Ellis-Baker,  b.  June  21,  1852. 

ii.    Herman,  b.  Oct.  7,  1853;  d.  1854. 
HI.  Jane-Maria,  b.  Jan.  3,  1858. 
iv.    Leila-Woodman,  b.  Aug.  26,  1859. 


GENEALOGY.  127 

v.    Susannah,  b.  Jan.  14,  1863. 
vi.    Ellen-Bacon,  b.  June  14,  1866. 

102.  ABIJAH  USHER  (see  67)  of  Hollis,  Me., 
was  born  Feb.  2,  1813,  and  died   1892.     He  was 
Selectman,  1853-1855.     He   married,  ist,  Oct.  g9 
1845,   Sarah    A.  Bradley,  daughter   of  David    A. 
She  was   born    Feb.   13,   1825,  and    died    Aug.  6, 
1854.     By  her  he  had  — 

i.  Cyrus-F.,  b.  Sept.  15,  1846;  d.  Jan. 
15,  1849. 

121.  ii.  Frederick-A.,  b.  Jan.  17,  1849. 

in.  Ella-E.,  b.  July  2,  1851;  d.  Aug.  27, 

1866. 
iv.  Edwin-F.,  b.  May  27,  1854;  d.  Sept. 

12,  1854. 

He  married,  2d,  Feb.  6,  1859,  Mary  S.  Moody, 
daughter  of  Asa  and  Abigail.  She  was  born  Dec. 
25,  1817,  and  died  March  9,  1869.  By  her  he 
had  — 

122.  v.    Preston-M.,b.Jan.4,i86i;  m.  Lillian 

Davis. 

He  married,  3d,  June  6,   1870,  Abbie  J.  Rowell. 

She  was  born  Dec.  22,  1828.     By  her  he  had  — 

vi.  Howard-Stanton,  b.  July  8,1871.  He 
graduated  in  1892  from  University 
of  the  State  of  New  York. 

103.  ELLIS  BAKER  USHER  (see  67)  of  Hollis, 
Me.,  was  born  Dec.  26,  1819,  and  died  1878.     He 
married,  ist,  Sara  Paine,  and  had  by  her  — 

i.    Gershom. 

He  married,  2d,  Phoebe  Haley,  and  had  by  her  — 
ii.    Ellis-B. 
in.    Ellen. 


128  GENEALOGY. 

iv.   Mary, 
v.    Alvin-Cook. 

104.  HENRY  A.  USHER  (see  67)  of  Hollis,  Me., 
was  born  Sept.  9,  1826,  and  died  April  8, 1872.    He 
was  Selectman,  1862-1864.     He  married  Olive  J. 
Martin,  June  18,  1850,  and  had  a  son  — 

123.  William-H.,  b.  in  Taunton,  Mass.,  Aug. 
23>  1853. 

105.  HELEN  MARR  USHER  (see  73)  was  born 
March    17,   1829,   and    died   Aug.   6,    1893.      She 
married,  ist,  April  6,  1844,  James  Adams  of  North 
Andover,  Mass.,  and  by  him  had  — 

i.    Helen-Maria,   b.    April    2,    1845.      She 
married  Thomas  Dickman  of  Augusta, 
Me.,  Jan.  24,  1866. 
ii.    Mary-Frank,  b.  July  7,  1847;    d.  Aug., 

1848. 

HI.    George-Clarence,  b.  Aug.  17,  1850.     He 
married  Anna  Elizabeth  Reed,  Oct.iS, 
1877,  and  has  two  children,(i)  Mattie- 
Eloise,  b.  Aug.  1 1, 1878,  and  (2)  Reed, 
b.  July  30,1883.    He  lives  in  Brooklyn, 
N.Y.,  and  is  a  journalist,  being  con- 
nected with  the  Daily  Eagle. 
James  Adams  died  in  June,  1851,  and  she  married, 
2d,  Horace  Holt  of  Milford,  N.H.,  July  8,   1852. 
He  died  Sept.  3,  1885.     By  him  she  had  — 

iv.    Mary-Kate,  b.  July  28,1853.    She  married 

John  Macmannus,  July  9,  1879. 
v.  John-Gardner-Usher,  b.   Feb.    18,   1855. 
He  married  Lillian  Bouton,  Sept., 1877. 
vi.    Charles-Secombe,  b.  Jan.  23,  1857;    d. 
Jan.  10,  1876. 


GENEALOGT.  129 

vn.   Frederick-Llewellyn,  b.  March  21,  1860. 
He   married  Ella  Eamens,  Sept.   19, 
1881. 
vni.   Sallie-Faron,  b.  June  3,  1864;  d.  Nov.  3, 

1865. 
ix.  Jessie-Faron,  b.  Nov.  15,  1866;  d.  Jan.  8, 

1875- 
x.   Frankie,  b.  July  9,  1872;  d.  Oct.,  1873. 

106.  CHARLES  NELSON  USHER  (see  78)  of  Lynn 
was  born  Sept.  20, 1841.     He  married,  Aug.  7, 1865, 
Martha  A.  Lovering  of  Exeter,  N.H.     She  was 
born  Feb.  18,  1843.     His  child  was  — 

124.  Eugene-Percy,  b.  May  n,  1866. 

107.  WARREN  HULEN  USHER  (see  78)  of  Lynn 
was  born  Aug.  18,  1848.     He  married,  ist,  Dec.  10, 
1873,  Caroline  P.Johnson.     She  was  born  in  1850, 
and  was  daughter  of  Christopher  and  Antoinette. 
He  married,  2d,  Nov.  4,  1886,  Addie  M.  Estes. 
She  was  born  in  1848,  and  was  daughter  of  William 
H.  and  Rebecca  D. 

108.  JOHN  GARDNER  USHER  (see  78)  of  Lynn 
was  born  Aug.  27,  1853.      He  married,  May  12, 
1880,  Minnie  Arey,  who  was  daughter  of  Joseph 
and  Abigail  of  Winterport,  Me.     His  child  was  — 

Ethel-Jane,  b.  Aug.  25,  1881. 

109.  JAMES  FRANKLIN  USHER  (see  80)  of  Med- 
ford  was  born  Oct.  i,  1839.     He  married  in  1861 
Harriet  A.  Sampson,  who  was  daughter  of  Ben- 
jamin H.     She  was  born  Feb.  8,  1839,  and  died 
Aug.  21,  1886.     He  died  Oct.  23,  1878.     His  child 
was  — 

125.  James-Madison,  b.  Nov.  19,  1865. 


i3o  GENEALOGY. 

110.  FREDERICK  WELLINGTON  UsHER(seeSl) 
of  Lynn  was  born  Oct.  5,  1847.     He  married,  Dec. 
20,  1871,  Esther  M.  Stone,  who  was  daughter  of 
Charles  S.  Stone,  whose  wife  was  Myra  Howes. 
His  children  were  — 

i.   Leonard-Bucknam,  b.  Feb.  i,  1877. 
ii.    Charles-Frederick,  b.  March  24,  1881. 
in.   Arthur-Lester,  b.  Feb.  27,  1887. 

111.  FANNY    ELIZABETH    USHER  (see   81)  of 
Lynn  was  born  Nov.  22,  1850.     She  married,  Jan. 
8,  1873,  Timothy  Merritt,  who  was  son  of  Charles 
Merritt,  whose  wife  was  Mary  Breed.     Her  chil- 
dren were  — 

i.    Florence-Usher,  b.  Dec.  7,  1874. 
ii.    Blanche-Lillian,  b.  Jan.  27,  1880. 

112.  ADDIE    GERTRUDE    USHER    (see   81)   of 
Lynn  was  born  Jan.  10,  1856.     She  married,  May 
26,  1880,  Charles  S.  Fuller,  who  was  son  of  Syl- 
vester B.  Fuller,  whose  wife  was  Mary  Pomeroy. 
Her  children  were  — 

i.    Lawrence-Usher,  b.  March  31,  1881. 

ii.    Harold-Sylvester,  b.  Sept.  23,  1889. 

HI.    Charles-Kenneth,  b.  July  14,  1891. 

iv.  Donald-Wellington,  b.  Oct.  27, 1893. 
113-  EDWARD  PRESTON  USHER  (see  83)  was 
born  Nov.  19,  1851,  at  Lynn.  He  graduated  from 
Harvard  College  in  1873,  received  the  Degree  of 
Master  of  Arts  in  1875,  and  that  of  Bachelor  of 
Laws  in  1880.  He  practised  law  in  Boston,  and 
published,  in  1886,  a  treatise  on  the  "  Law  of  Sales 
of  Personal  Property,"  having  special  reference  to 
the  law  as  it  existed  in  Massachusetts. 


GENEALOGY.  131 

On  the  occasion  of  the  dedication  of  the  Soldiers' 
Monument  in  Lynn,  Sept.  17,  1873,  he  delivered  an 
original  poem.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Lynn 
School  Committee  for  several  years.  He  projected 
and  built  the  Grafton  and  Upton  Railroad,  running 
from  North  Grafton  to  Milford,  a  distance  of  sixteen 
miles.  He  became  President  of  this  company  in 

1887,  and  has  held  that  position  up  to  the  present 
time.     He  was  also  President  of  the  Milford  and 
Hopedale  Street  Railway  Company,  and  General 
Manager  of  the   Hopedale   Electric   Company, — 
which   companies  were    organized  to   exploit  the 
use  of  storage  batteries  for  traction  purposes.     He 
devised  a  new  type  of  cell,  by  which  the  cars  were 
run  successfully,  and  secured  twelve  patents  there- 
on.    This  led  to  protracted  litigation,  which  is  still 
pending.     From  1873  to  ^78,  he  was  Deputy  United 
States  Marshal.     He  moved  to  Grafton,  Mass.,  in 

1888,  where  he  has  since  resided,  retaining,  how- 
ever, his  office  in  Boston. 

He  married,  June  25, 1879,  Adela  Louise  Payson. 
She  was  born  March  31, 1852,  and  was  the  daughter 
of  Edwin  Payson.  Her  lineage  is  traced  as  follows : 
from  — 

(1)  Edward    Payson,    who   was    a    freeman    at 
Dorchester,  May    13,    1640,  and   married,  Jan.    i, 
1642,  Mary,  daughter  of  Philip  Eliot.     She  was  a 
niece  of  the  famous   Indian  Apostle,  John   Eliot. 
Edward  died  August,  1691,  having  had  a  son  — 

(2)  Samuel    Payson,  who  was   born    Sept.   21, 
1662,  and  died  Nov.  24,  1721.     He  married  Mary, 
daughter  of  Rev.  Samuel  Phillips  of  Rowley.     She 


132  GENEALOGY. 

died  April  20,  1725.  Samuel  lived  at  Dorchester, 
was  Constable  in  1699,  Selectman  in  1700,  1706, 
1707,  and  1709.  He  had  a  son  — 

(3)  Rev.    Phillips    Payson,   who   was    born    in 
Dorchester,  Feb.  29,  1704,  but  resided  and  died 
at  Walpole.     He  graduated  from  Harvard  College 
in  1724.     He  married  Ann,  daughter  of  Rev.  John 
Swift,  Dec.  5,  1733.      She  died  1756.      He  died 
Jan.  22,  1778,  leaving  a  son  — 

(4)  George  Payson  of  Walpole,  who  was  born 
May  24,  1744,  and  died  July  6,  1788.     He  married, 
Sept.  9,  1770,  Abigail  Boyden,  and  had  a  son  — 

(5)  Samuel  Payson  of  Walpole,  who  was  born 
July  6,  1771.     He  married  Nancy  Lindley,  who 
was  born  March  8,  1773,  and  died  March  1 8,  1851, 
and  had  a  son  — 

(6)  Samuel  Payson  of  Walpole,  who,  in  1817, 
moved  to  Holliston.     He  was  born  March  12, 1793, 
and  died  Dec.  24,  1860.     He  married,  Nov.  27, 
1817,  Adela  Pond,  who  died  Feb.  17,  1823,  and 
had  a  son  — 

(7)  Edwin  Payson,  who  was  born  Aug.  31,1818, 
and  died  Jan.  22,  1867.     He  married,  May  7,  1851, 
Susan   Soule,  who  was  born  Nov.  28,  1829,  and 
died  May  i,  1869.     She  was  daughter  of  Asa  Soule, 
whose  wife  was  Miriam  Whiting.     Edwin  had  a 
daughter  — 

(8)  Adela  Louise  Payson,  who  was  born  March 
31,  1852.     She  graduated  from  the  Chelsea  High 
School  in  1870,  and  then  went  to  Europe  to  com- 
plete her  education.     She  was  in  school  at  Geneva 
during  1872,  and  in  Hanover  during  1873.     Return- 


GENEALOGY.  133 

ing  home  she  became  teacher  of  French  and 
German  from  September,  1874,  to  June,  1875,  m 
Temple  Grove  Seminary  in  Saratoga,  N.Y.,  and 
then  in  Abbott  Academy  at  Andover,  Mass.,  from 
September,  1875,  to  June,  1878. 

The  children  of  Edward  P.  Usher  were  — 

i.    Roland-Greene,  b.  May  3,  1880. 

ii.    Abbott-Payson,  b.  Jan.  13,  1883. 

in.   Edward-Preston,  b.  Jan.  3,  1890. 

iv.   Albert-Morse,  b.  Sept.  20,  1893. 

114.  CAROLINE  MUDGE  USHER  (see  83)  was 
born  in  Lynn,  March  28,  1855.  She  graduated 
from  the  Lynn  High  School  in  1872,  and  then 
attended  Bradford  Academy  for  the  three  succeed- 
ing years.  She  travelled  in  Europe  for  one  year. 
She  married,  April  10,  1883,  Rev.  Samuel  Allen 
Harlow.  He  was  born  April  6,  1857,  at  Kingston, 
N.Y.  He  was  son  of  Samuel  Ralph  Harlow,  who 
was  born  in  Kingston,  N.Y.,  Nov.  i,  1833,  and 
married,  Dec.  22,  1855,  Mary  Helen,  daughter  of 
Dr.  Samuel  Bowen.  He  was  grandson  of  Rev. 
Samuel  Harlow,  a  minister  of  the  Dutch  Reformed 
Church,  who  was  born  in  1803  at  Hamptonburgh, 
Orange  County,  N.Y.,  and  died  at  Shokan,  N.Y., 
in  1859,  having  married  Jane  Elting,  a  descendant 
of  one  of  the  Dutch  Huguenots  who  settled  in 
New  Paltz,  Ulster  County,  N.Y.  She  was  born  in 
1802,  and  died  in  August,  1873.  S.  R.  Harlow 
was  United  States  Marshal  for  the  Eastern  District 
of  New  York  for  twelve  years.  Rev.  S.  A.  Harlow 
was  graduated  from  Princeton  College  in  1879,  and 
from  Princeton  Theological  Seminary  in  1882.  He 


134  GENEALOGT. 

was  ordained  Oct.  15,  1882,  and  was  settled  in 
Philadelphia  from  April,  1883,  until  May,  1885,  as 
pastor  of  West  Hope  Presbyterian  Church.  He 
was  pastor  of  Pilgrim  Chapel,  Brooklyn,  N.Y.,  from 
October,  1885,  until  May,  1888,  and  then  of  the 
Whitefield  Church  at  Newburyport,  Mass.,  from 
July,  1888,  until  May,  1892,  and  then  of  the  Fourth 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Trenton,  N.J.,  from  May, 
1892,  until  June,  1894,  and  then  of  the  Salem  Street 
Church  in  Worcester,  Mass.,  from  Oct.  i,  1894. 
Their  children  were  — 

i.    Samuel-Ralph,  b.  July  20,  1885. 
n.    Anna,  b.  Feb.  12,  1887. 
in.    Robert-Elsing,  b.  Oct.  21,  1889. 

115.  NATHANIEL  R.  USHER  (see  84)  was  born 
April  7,  1855.     He  is  in  the  United  States  Navy. 
He    became    Cadet   Midshipman,    Sept.   22,  1871, 
graduated  June  i,  1875;   became  Ensign,  July  18, 
1876,  and  afterwards   Lieutenant.     He   is  now  in 
command   of  the    new  torpedo   boat  "  Ericsson." 
He  married,  July  29,  1891,  Anne  Usher.     She  was 
the  daughter  of  Luke  and  Hannah  Usher  of  Pots- 
dam, N.Y.,  her  father  being  of  the  second  genera- 
tion  in  this  country  of  that  branch  of  the  Usher 
family  which  came  from  Dublin,  Ireland. 

1 16.  MARSHALL  USHER  (see  91)  was  born  Dec. 
3,  1835;  died  July  4,  1858;  married  Draxy  Good- 
win, Oct.  10,  1854,  and  had  — 

Louisa-A.,  b.  Aug.  15,  1856  (see  121). 

1 17.  AMELIA  A.  USHER  (see  91)  was  born  Aug. 
13, 1845.     She  married  James  E.  Crawford  in  1870, 
and  had  — 


GENEALOGY.  135 

i.   Ella-Louise, 
n.   Carrie-May. 
HI.   Frederick-Marshall;  d.  Jan.,  1895. 

118.  LESCOMB  R.  USHER  (see  62)  of  Stoughton, 
Wis.,  was  born  July  13,  1831.     He  married,  ist, 
Martha  Chamberlin,  Nov.  5,  1851,  and  had  — 

i.   Ozro-Mott,  b.  Sept.  16, 1853 ;  d.  Aug. 

16,  1856. 

His  wife  died  April  19,  1858,  and  he  married,  zd, 
Mary  L.  Fuller,  June  3,  1859,  by  whom  he  had  — 

126.  n.   Merville-D.,  b.  July  24,  1863. 

in.   Ella-T.,  b.  Sept.  26,  1865;  m.  W.  H. 

Anderson,  Dec.  26,  1888. 
iv.   Newell-R.,  b.  Jan.  22,  1867. 
v.   Emma-A.,  b.  Nov.  20,  1873. 
vi.   Ray-D.,  b.  March  20,  1880. 
His  wife,  Mary,  died  Aug.  3,  1884,  and  he  married, 
3d,  Esther  A.  DeWolf,  Sept.  23,  1886. 

119.  FREDERICK  ROSALOO  USHER  (see  62)  of 
Stoughton,  Wis.,  was   born    Sept.  30,   1841.     He 
married  Carrie   Amelia   Roberts,  Sept.   26,  1841, 
and  had  — 

127.  i.    Frederick-Merton,  b.  Dec.  16,  1862. 
n.    Frank-B.,  b.  Feb.  i,  1864. 

128.  HI.    Charles-Roberts,  b.  March  12, 1866. 
iv.    George,  b.  June  27,  1868;  d.  July  3, 

1868. 

129.  v.    Duane-D.,  b.  Sept.  26,  1870. 
vi.    Annie-Sophia,  b.  May  4,  1873. 

vii.   Elbert-Ernest,  b.  April  10,  1878. 


136  GENEALOGT. 

EIGHTH   GENERATION. 

120.  ELLIS    BAKER    USHER  (see   101)  of  La 
Crosse,  Wis.,  was  born  June  21,  1852.     He  was 
Chairman  of  the  Democratic  State  Central  Com- 
mittee for  three  years,  ending  with  the  campaign 
of  1888.     He  has  always  been  active  and  promi- 
nent in  politics.     He  is   editor  and  proprietor  of 
the  La  Crosse  Morning  Chronicle.     He  married, 
Nov.  27,  1888,  Anna  Myers  Bliss,  and  had  — 

Dorothy-Bliss,  b.  March  16,  1892. 

121.  FREDERICK  A.  USHER  (see  102)  of  Port- 
land, Me.,  was  born  Jan.  17,  1849.     He  married, 
ist,  Feb.  27, 1871,  Albertina  J.  Charles  of  Fryeburg, 
Me.,  and  had  — 

i.   Virgil-M.,  b.  May  13,  1874. 
He  married,  2d,  Nov.  29,  1883,  Louise  A.  Usher, 
daughter  of  Marshall  Usher  (see  116),  and  had  — 

ii.  J.-Philbrick,  b.  June  10,  1889. 

122.  PRESTON  M.  USHER  (see  102)  of  Hollis, 
Me.,  was  born  Jan.  4, 1861.     He  married  Lillian  A. 
Davis,  April  8,  1891,  and  had  — 

i.    Amy-Boothby,  b.  Jan.  10,  1893. 
ii.   Alta-Madora,  b.  Nov.  29,  1894. 

123.  WILLIAM  H.  USHER  (see  104)  of  Gorham 
and  Portland,  Me.,  was  born  Aug.  23,  1853.     He 
married  Ella  J.  Watson,  May  23,  1877.     She  was 
daughter  of  Nathaniel  and  Mary  A.,  and  was  born 
in  Saco,  Aug.  21,  1854.     Children  were  — 

i.    Henry-W.,  b.  Dec.  9,  1879. 
ii.   Ethel- W.,  b.July  31,  1881. 

124.  EUGENE  PERCY  USHER  (see  106)  of  Lynn 
was  born  May  n,  1866.     He  married,  April  22, 


GENEALOGY.  137 

1885,  Augusta  E.  Dow.  She  was  born  in  1869, 
and  was  the  daughter  of  George  E.  and  Hannah  E. 
Dow.  His  children  were  — 

i.   Percy-Edwin,  b.  Nov.  10,  1885. 

ii.    Charles-LeRoy,  b.  Feb.  13,  1890. 

125.  JAMES  MADISON  USHER  (see  109)  of  Med- 
ford  was  born  Nov.  19,  1865.     He  married,  Oct.  4, 
1883,  Elizabeth   Abbott   Eustis.      She   was   born 
March  31,  1861,  and  was  daughter  of  Henry  W. 
Eustis,   who   married   Martha  Whittemore.      His 
children  were  — 

i.   Roland-Eustis,  b.  Oct.  24,  1886. 

ii.  Joseph-Madison,  b.  July  14,  1889. 
ill.  James-Franklin,  b.  Oct.  2,  1890. 
iv.   Dorothy-Moore,  b.  Aug.  19,  1893. 

126.  MERVILLE  D.  USHER  (see  118)  of  Stough- 
ton,  Wis.,  was  born  July  24,  1863.     He  married 
Jennie  Peckham,  Jan.  i,  1886,  and  had  — 

i.   Percy-G.,  b.July  9,  1887. 
ii.   Barnard-M.,  b.  Nov.  16,  1892. 

127.  FREDERICK  MERTON  USHER  (see  119)  of 
Stoughton,  Wis.,  was   born   Dec.  16,  1862.      He 
married  Lavona  Johnson,  April  15, 1891,  and  had — 

Ralph-Johnson,  b.  June  6,  1893. 

128.  CHARLES    ROBERTS   USHER  (see  119)  of 
Stoughton,  Wis.,  was  born  March   12,  1866.     He 
married  Elsie  Conner,  Oct.  9,  1889. 

129.  DUANE  D.  USHER  (see  119)  of  Stoughton, 
Wis.,  was  born  Sept.  26,  1870,  and  married  Cora 
Douglas,  June  5,  1894. 

130.  WILLIAM  H.  USHER  (see  98)  of  Bristol, 
R.I.,  was  born  April  20,  1857,  and  died  April  5, 


138  GENEALOGY. 

1894.     He  married  Minnie  M.  Rockwood,  October, 
1885,  and  had  — 

i.  WilliamnRaymond,  b.  Sept.  17,  1890. 
n.   Mildred-A.,  b.  Dec.  13,  1892. 
131.  JOHN  USHER  (see  98)  of  Bristol,  R.I.,  was 
born   Jan.    17,    1864.      He    married   Gertrude   B. 
Franklin,  June  25,  1889,  and  had  — 

i.   Willard-F.,  b.  April  19,  1890. 
ii.    Richard-Harold,  b.  March  23,  1891. 
in.  John-H.,  b.  Nov.  13,  1892. 
iv.   Eldena,  b.  Oct.  19,  1894. 


WILL  OF  ROBERT  USHER* 
1669. 


[From  the  FAIRFIELD  PROBATE  RECORDS,  vol.  1665-75,  Pa8e  53-] 

The  21  Septem6  69  in  Standford 

The  will  of  Robert  Usher  concerning  the  disposal  of  his  worldly 

estate  declared  by  word  of  mouth  Unto  us  whose  names  are 

underwritten  as  followeth : 

i     that  his  wife  should  have  one  third  of  his  estate. 

2ly     that  the  Residue  of  his  estate  be  devided  unto  his  two 

Children,  viz  :  Robert  and  Elizabeth,  his  son  Robart  to  have  a 

dubble  part  to  Elizabeth.     Alsoe  he  declared  his  will  to  be  that 

his  wife  should  have  the  use  of  the  house  and  Lands  during  her 

Life  time  and  that  his  sonn  Robert  should  have  the  right  and 

propriety  and  possessed  of  the  said  house,  housing  and  Lands 

after  the  death  of  his  wife  — 

3ly     that  he  gave  five  pounds  unto  Deborah  Rose :  — 

4ly     that  he  gave  Twenty  shillings  unto  Richard  Cosens  — 

5ly     that  sum  small  debts  (he  willed  with  discreation)  to  be 

passed  over  not  allowed  in  his  estate,  And  that  the  bill  of 

Richard  Scofeild  be  cancelled  and  given  in  to  them  and  as 

reason  may  require  with  more  to  be  added  for  her  helpfulnes 

unto  him  — 

61y     he  declared   his   mind  and  desire  that  his  brother  (Mr 

Hesekia  Usher  of  boston)  should  have  his  two  children  if  he 

send  for  them  and  his  wife  can  consent  to  part  with  them 

earnestly  desiring  that  his  brother  might  bee  Informed  of  his 

mind  therin. 

Witnes  our  hands  — 

As  touching  the  p'mises  and  the  person  John  Bishop 

concerned,  viz.,  Robert  Usher  deceased  John  Holly 

*  This  is  what,  in  legal  phrase,  is  called  a  nuncupative  will,  of  which  it  is  an  inter- 
esting specimen. 


140 


WILL    OF  ROBERT  USHER. 


we  conceive  that  he  had  the  due  use  of 

his  understanding  when  he  declared  this  to  be  his  will 

John  Holly 
The  above  written  ) 


John  Holly,  Com'  upon  oath. 


will  attested  y  me 

An  Inventory  of  the  estate  of  Robert  Usher  Deceased  taken 
and  apprized  by  Lieut.  Ffrancis  Bell  and  John  Holly 
Octob"  26:  &  27:  Anno  1669  — 


housing  &  Lands 

52  Ib.  pewter  5"*  4*  One  Copper  kettell  5"" 

bedsteed  bedding  &  furniture  in  New  room 

4  Gushing  Cases  1 2*  2  yds  silk  1 2* 

2  Tinpans  2-6d  —  i  peece  Tape  2od 

i  ell  of  fine  Cambrick  12*  i  peece  filleting  i" 

1  peece  Tape  i8d —  i  peece  cotten  ribbon  5' 
White  Tape  2'  6d  —  9  alcomy  spoons  3*  9d 

a  remnant  of  black  say  4*  &  band  strings 
fine  white  thred  5*  —  2  knives  2§ 

3  pair  gloves  4*  6d  hooks  &  eyes  3' 
Sugar  10*  a  castor  hat  2lb 

Silk  &  collored  thred  7"  6d  —  3}^  yds 

paire  fine  sheets  ilb  15*  more  9  sheets  2lb  u'  8d 

a  peece  of  gy  ribb  12'  a  trunk  15" 

8  Napkins  ilb  fishhooks  i§ —  10  napkins  12* 

Table  Clothes  12"  10  pillow  beers  2lb 

a  white  lin  :  wastcoat  4*  5  yds  home  made  cloath  ilb 

6  yds  blew  lin  :  io8  6  taps  &  fassets  6d 

powder  &  shot  ilb  5*  a  looking  glass  5* 

a  y.  sissors  6d  glass  bottels  13' 

Stone  bottles  3"  27  Ib.  lead  9* 

a  belt  4*  books  2lb  an  Inkhorn  8d 

Cotton  yarn  8"  Wool  cards  &  Cotton  cards  8* 

a  scarlet  mantell  2lb  a  peece  of  red  searge  24*  6d 

2  yds  fine  qr.  say  18*  2  cheasts  3  boxes  ilb 
a  flasket  3*  3  wheels  10*  a  table  6* 

5  panes  of  glass  13*  6d  paper  4*  6d 

i  gr.  rugg  2  smal  pillowes  2  blankets  a  bag  of) 
fethers  a  remnant  of  sacking  togather  ) 


£  s  d 
1 20-00-00 
10-04-00 
14-09-00 
01-04-00 
00-04-02 
00-17-00 
00-06-06 
00-06-03 
00-14-00 
00-07-00 
00-07-06 

O2-IO-OO 
OI-OI-O6 
04-06-08 
OI-O7-OO 
OI-I3-OO 
O2-I2-OO 
OI-O4-OO 
OO-IO-O6 
OI-IO-OO 
00-13-06 
OO-I2-OO 
02-04-08 
00-16-00 
03-04-06 
OI-l8-OO 
00-19-00 
00-18-00 

O4-IO-00 


WILL    OF  ROBERT  USHER.          141 

4  pound  cotten  wool  4*  a  spit  2*  a  brand  R  2*  00-08-00 

2  Shares  2  Cutters  i  bolt  togather  01-00-00 

old  Iron  Trumpery  3*  i  y.  bullet  molds  i§  00-04-00 

a  small  brad  i*  3  Iron  widges  7*  00-08-00 

2  brod  axes  &  i  narrow  axe  00-08-00 
Carpenters  Tools  16*  6d  a  rest  i*  00-17-06 
14  yds  kersie  6lb  10  yds  oussels  4"*  10-00-00 
13  yds  bed  ticking  02-18-06 
paper  10'  Small  line  3*  nayles  2Ib  io§  03-03-00 
it  yds  locrum  ilb  2*  10  yds  cotten  2lb  03-02-00 
Sheeps  wool  5'  a  pr.  Sheeres  6§  oo-i  i-oo 

3  panes  of  glass  6*  a  peece  of  Lin :  cloath  6*  00-12-00 
3  sines  6*  old  chest,  tub  box  &  troughs  7*  00-13-00 
3  ban  y  bedding  in  y"  outer  chamber  5"*  05-06-00 
70  bush :  Ind  :  Corn  7*  2  troughs  old  riddles  5*  07-05-00 
22  Ib.  flax  ilb  a  basket  i§  01-01-00 
hops  12*  a  pillion  10*  a  cart  rop  3*  01-05-00 
Combd  flax  1 1*  4*  oo-i  1-04 
3  guns  2  swords  i  belt  i  pistol  05-10-00 
8)4  Ib  old  pewter  1 2*9d  i  brass  morter  pestle  sckillets  1 1*  01-03-09 
2  old  brass  kettles  &  Skimmer  15*  a  rust  sckillet  8§       01-03-00 
a  Iron  pot  &  sckillet  8§  y  tin  ware  i8a  00-09-  6 
a  small  Cast  pot  5'  2  trammels  12*  cob  Irons  10*  01-07- 

2  pr.  Tongs  i  pot  8*  i  Iron  pot  &  hooks  ilb  01-08-00 

2  frying  pans  6*  i  y  bellowes  4*  warming  pan  4*  00-14-00 

an  Gridiron  &  2  wedges  7*  00-07-00 

boules  Trays  &  dishes  Spoons  Trumpery  00-14-00 

a  box  Smothing  Iron  &  heaters  00-06-00 

earthen  ware  6'  lether  bottell  &  driping  pan  7*  00-13-00 
a  y.  stilliards  14*  dore  &  chest  locks  &  hooks  &  )      oi-io-oo 
hinges  &  le  wiers  16*                                               ) 

2  payles  &  coopers  ware  5'  a  flasket  2*  00-07-00 
powder  horn :  shot  bagg  &  bullets  00-01-06 

3  churns  4*  2  chests  12*  00-16-00 
bed  &  furniture  in  y'  old  bed  roome  07-10-00 
more  bedding  05-00-00 
1%  yds  Penestone  01-17-06 
2  bags  &  horse  halter  5*  00-05-00 
i  sute  &  cloake  &  2  tropers  coats  10-00-00 


142  WILL    OF  ROBERT  USHER. 

2  great  coats  4lb  Serge  ilb  15*  i  cloake  ilb  10'  07-05-0x1 

Stockings  8*  40  duz.  buttens  16*  8d  01-04-00 

Primmers  &  horn  books  5*  a  bar.  salt  ilb  01-05-00 

a  hat  5§  a  half  bushell  &  a  bole  5*  oo-io-oo 

2  Sieths  5*  Iron  trumpery  8'  00-13-00 
Wooden  things  in  the  buttery  00-12-00 
13  Ib.  Steele  19*  6d  a  coppy  booke  2*  01-01-06 
5  Ib.  Spanish  Iron  09-06-08 
a  hemp  combs  7'  25  yds.  home  made  cloath  5lb  12*  6d  05-19-06 

3  hones  6*  2  pitchforks  &  betel  wings  5*  oo-i  i-oo 
fethers  i  Ib.  horse  fitters  2  spindles  4  s  01-04-00 
pompions  io8  a  shovell  2§  00-12-00 
a  cart  &  wheles  wth  the  Iron  about  it  03-00-00 
2  rhayns  2  yokes  &  Irons  01-10-00 

2  plowes  with  sum  Irons  00-14-00 
an  old  Sadie  00-06-08 
30  bush  peese  5lb  5"  30  buss,  wheat  6lb  15*  12-00-00 
hay  5lb  Tobacoe  ilb  06-00-00 
i  horss  4Ib  2  mares  6lb  i  :  2  past  2lb  1 2-00-00 
i  two  year  2lb  i  yearling  30*  04-05-00 

4  Oxen  24lb  4  Cowes  i5lb  39-00-00 

3  yearlings  past  6lb  2  Calves  2lb  08-00-00 
1 2  Swine  9lb  09-00-00 
Undressed  flax  01-00-00 
Peuter  flagon  4'  00-04-00 
29  yz  yds.  of  home  made  cotten  cloath  of  linning,  4)£lb  08-00-00 
Silver  19*  00-19-00 
coopers  ware  io*  i  kettle  5'  00-15-00 
due  to  the  estate  in  debts  22-12-08 
due  from                 of  Midleborough  by  bill  six  hun- 
dred wayt  of  Tobaccoe  —  wherof  ther  is  Indorsed 

on  the  bill  317""  more  debt  to  be  payd  out  of  y" 

estate  25-00-1  ^ 

More  debts  remayning  to  Jeremy  of  his  portion 

given  in  upon  oath  by  the  widdow  Usher  in 

Standford  Octobr  31  (1670)  before 

Rich :  Lowe 
i  Novemb'  1670:  John  Holly 


WILL  OF  HEZEKIAH   USHER,  SR. 
1676. 


In  the  name  of  God  amen  the  eleventh  day  of  may  in  the  yeare 
of  or  Lord  One  thousand  Six  hundred  seaventy  and  Six  I 
Hezekiah  Usher  senr:  of  Boston  in  New  England  merch" 
being  sicke  and  weake  of  body  but  of  sound  &  perfect  memory 
praised  be  Almighty  God  for  the  same  Knowing  the  uncer- 
tainty of  this  present  life  and  being  desirous  to  settle  that  out- 
ward estate  the  Lord  hath  lent  me  I  doe  make  this  my  last  will 
and  Testament  in  manner  and  forme  following  (that  is  to  say) 
ffirst  and  principally  I  comend  my  Soule  into  the  handes  of 
Almighty  God  my  creator  hopeing  to  receive  full  pardon  and 
remission  of  all  my  sins  and  eternall  salvation  through  the 
alone  merits  of  Jesus  Christ  my  redeemer,  And  my  body  to 
the  earth  to  be  buried  in  such  decent  manner  as  to  my  Execut™ 
hereafter  named  shall  be  thought  meet  and  convenient,  and  as 
touching  such  worldly  estate  as  the  Lord  hath  lent  me  my  will 
and  meaning  is  the  same  shall  be  employed  and  bestowed  as 
hereafter  in  and  by  this  my  will  is  exprest  Impr :  I  doe  hereby 
revoake  renounce  and  make  void  all  wills  by  me  formerly  made 
and  declare  and  appoint  this  my  last  will  and  Testam'.  Item 
I  will  that  all  the  debts  that  I  Justly  owe  unto  any  person  or 
persons  whatsoever  be  well  and  truly  paid  or  ordained  to  be 
paid  in  convenient  time  after  my  decease  by  my  Execut?  here- 
after named.  Item  I  give  unto  the  the  third  Church  of  Christ 
in  Boston  one  peece  of  plate  comonly  called  by  the  name  of  the 
Church  cup.  Item  I  give  &  bequeath  unto  my  deare  and 
wellbeloved  wife  Mary  Usher  all  her  owne  moveables  and 
other  estate  that  she  brought  with  her.  Alsoe  I  give  her  the 
Sume  of  ffive  hundred  pounds  to  be  paid  unto  her  in  mony 
and  goods.  And  alsoe  one  quarter  part  of  all  my  proper  house- 
hold goods  and  Plate.  Item  I  give  and  bequeath  unto  my 


144     WILL  OF  HEZEKIAH  USHER,  SR. 

loving  son  Hezekiah  Usher  the  Sume  of  One  thousand  pounds 
besides  that  One  thousand  pounds  that  I  have  already  given 
him.  Also  I  give  him  my  now  dwelling  house  with  all  the 
Rights  priviledges  &  appurtenances  thereunto  belonging  and 
my  part  of  the  cellar  under  the  towne  house  and  my  inward 
warehouse  next  the  Dock  with  the  priviledge  of  the  passage 
thereunto  &  appurtenances  thereunto  belonging  and  alsoe  one 
quarter  part  of  all  my  owne  proper  household  goods  &  plate. 
Item  I  give  and  bequeath  unto  my  Loving  Son  John  Usher 
the  dwelling  house  in  which  he  now  lives  with  all  Rights 
priviledges  and  appurtenances  thereunto  belonging  besides  what 
I  have  formerly  given  him  he  paying  unto  my  daughter  Sarah 
Tyng  the  Sume  of  five  pounds  in  mony  p  annum  during  the 
tearme  of  her  naturall  life,  Alsoe  I  hereby  give  him  my  out- 
most warehouse  neare  the  Docke  with  the  priviledges  thereunto 
belonging  and  alsoe  one  quarter  part  of  all  my  owne  proper 
household  goods  and  plate.  Item  I  give  and  bequeath  unto 
my  loving  daughter  Sarah  Tyng  the  Sume  of  ffbure  hundred 
pounds  besides  the  six  hundred  pounds  I  formerly  gave  her  for 
a  portion  which  foure  hundred  pounds  shall  be  discounted  out 
of  the  Summs  I  have  paid  for  her  husband  Johnathan  Tyng 
alsoe  I  doe  hereby  give  her  four  hundred  pounds  more  for  her 
to  dispose  of  as  she  shall  think  meet  Alsoe  I  doe  hereby  give 
unto  my  said  Daughter  Tyng  and  to  her  two  children  namely 
John  and  Mary  One  quarter  parte  of  all  my  owne  proper 
household  goods  and  Plate  Item  I  give  and  bequeath  unto  my 
Grandchilde  John  Tyng  the  sume  of  Three  hundred  pounds. 
Item  I  give  and  bequeath  unto  my  Grandchild  Mary  Tyng  the 
sume  of  two  hundred  pounds  both  which  said  last  Legacy es 
shall  be  paid  unto  the  said  John  and  Mary  by  my  Execut™ 
hereafter  named  when  they  respectively  shall  attaine  the  age 
of  Twenty  yeares  or  day  of  marriage  which  of  them  shall  first 
happen  or  come.  And  further  my  will  is  that  in  case  either  of 
the  said  children  dye  before  they  attaine  the  age  aforementioned 
then  the  survivor  of  them  shall  have  and  enjoy  the  Legacy 
bequeathed  as  aforesaid  to  the  deceased  party  Item  I  give 
and  bequeath  unto  my  Grandchildren  Hezekiah  Browne  and 
Elizabeth  Browne  all  their  moveables  that  were  their  mothers 
to  be  equally  divided  betweene  them.  Alsoe  I  give  unto  the 


WILL  OF  HEZEKIAH  USHER,  SR.     145 

said  Hezekiah  Browne  the  sume  of  foure  hundred  pounds  as 
his  portion  which  sume  I  hereby  order  and  appoint  to  lye  and 
remaine  in  my  son  John  Ushers  hands  untill  the  said  Hezekiah 
come  of  age,  he  allowing  the  said  Hezekiah  five  pounds  p 
Cent  p  annum  as  interest  for  the  same  during  all  the  said 
tearme  Alsoe  I  give  unto  the  said  Elizabeth  Browne  the  sume 
of  five  hundred  pounds  which  I  doe  hereby  order  to  lye  in  my 
wifes  hands  as  her  Guardian  untill  she  attaine  the  Age  of 
Eighteene  yeares  or  day  of  marriage  for  my  said  wife  to  improve 
for  her  education  and  maintenance  and  if  either  of  the  said 
children  dye  before  they  come  of  age,  then  the  survivor  of  them 
shall  have  the  Legacy  hereby  bequeathed  to  the  deceased  party. 
Item  I  give  and  bequeath  unto  my  wifes  Daughter  namely 
Hannah  Butler  the  summe  of  One  hundred  pounds  and  to 
Mary  Butler  the  sume  of  Two  hundred  pounds  to  be  paid  unto 
them  respectively  as  they  shall  attaine  the  Age  of  nineteene 
yeares  or  day  of  marriage  which  of  them  shall  first  happen  or 
come.  Alsoe  I  give  unto  my  wifes  sons  Peter  Butler  and 
Samuel  Butler  fifty  pounds  apeece  to  be  paid  unto  them  when 
they  shall  attaine  the  Age  of  twenty  One  yeares.  Item  I  give 
unto  my  brother  Samuel  Usher  the  sume  of  One  hundred 
pounds  to  be  paid  in  England  into  the  handes  of  ffeofees.  in 
trust  (for  his  use)  approved  by  my  Execut?  and  Overseers  and 
my  will  is  that  he  come  not  to  New  England  Item  I  give 
unto  Robert  Usher  the  sume  of  ffifty  pounds  and  to  his  SistJ 
Elizabeth  Usher  fifty  pounds  to  be  paid  unto  them  as  they  shall 
come  to  age  or  the  day  of  marriage  which  of  them  shall  first 
happen  and  come.  Alsoe  I  give  unto  them  all  the  debts  that 
their  ffather  owed  unto  me  which  is  about  One  hundred  and 
fifty  pounds.  Item  I  give  unto  my  son  in  law  Samuel 
Shrimpton  and  his  wife  the  sume  of  ffifty  pounds  to  buy  them 
mourning.  Item  I  give  unto  Elizabeth  now  wife  of  my  son 
John  Usher  the  sume  of  One  hundred  pounds  and  to  his 
daughter  Elizabeth  Usher  one  hundred  pounds.  Item  I  give 
and  bequeath  unto  my  sister  Elizabeth  Harwood  *  the  sume  of 

*  She  married  John  Harwood,  who  became  a  freeman  in  Boston,  May  a,  1649,  and  by 
him  she  had  three  children;  viz., — 

I.  Elizabeth,  b.  March  17,  1651. 
II.  Hezekiah,  b.  April  17,  1653. 
III.  Hannah,  b.  March  6,  1655. 
He  returned  to  England  in  1657. 


146     WILL  OF  HEZEKIAH  USHER,  SR. 

One  hundred  pounds.  Item  I  give  unto  my  brother  John 
Harwood  the  sume  of  ffifty  pounds.  Item  I  give  unto  Eliza- 
beth Sedgewick  the  sume  of  ffifty  pounds  Item  I  give  unto 
the  rest  of  my  brother  Harwoods  children  twenty  pounds 
apeece.  Item  I  give  unto  Hannah  Scotton  the  sume  of  ffifty 
pounds.  Item  I  give  unto  Rachel  wife  of  Thomas  Harwood 
the  sume  of  forty  pounds  provided  her  husband  pay  me  what 
he  stands  indebted  unto  me  by  bond  (in  case  not)  then  I  only 
give  her  twenty  pounds.  Item  I  give  unto  each  of  sd.  Rachel 
Harwoods  children  apeece  of  serge.  Item  I  give  unto  my 
mother  Mrs.  Sarah  Syms  all  that  part  of  my  father  Syms'  his 
estate  that  may  or  might  become  due  unto  me  by  vertue  of  my 
said  fathers  will  to  be  at  her  sole  dispose.  Alsoe  I  give  her 
the  sume  of  ten  pounds  out  of  what  he  owes  me.  Item  I  give 
unto  my  Brother  Mr.  Zackery  Syms  the  sume  of  ten  pounds. 
Item  I  give  unto  Brother  Savage  *  and  his  wife  fifty  shillings 
apeece.  Item  I  give  unto  Capt.  William  Davis  and  his  wife 
fifty  shillings  apeece.  Item  I  give  unto  each  of  said  Capt. 
Davis  his  children  five  pounds  apeece.  Item  I  give  unto  my 
son  Hezekiah  Usher  the  sume  of  One  hundred  pounds  more 
in  case  (viz.)  as  I  have  declared  to  two  of  my  overseers  by 
word  of  mouth.  Item  I  give  unto  my  brother  Brock  and  his 
wifef  fifty  shillings  apeece.  Item  I  give  unto  my  sister, 
Brocks  foure  children  namely  —  Samuel  Hough,  Elizabeth 
Hough  Sarah  Walker  and  Mary  Smith  the  sume  of  five  pounds 
apeece.  Item  I  give  unto  my  Brother  Mr.  William  Syms  the 
sume  of  fifty  shillings  Item  I  give  unto  Timothy  Syms  and 
his  wife  fifty  shillings  apeece.  Item  I  give  unto  Timothy 
Proute  junr :  \  &  his  wife  fifty  shillings  apeece.  Item  I  give 
unto  Brother  Willis  §  and  his  wife  fifty  shillings  apeece.  Item 
I  give  unto  Harvard  Collidge  at  Cambridge  the  sume  fifty 
pounds.  Item  I  give  to  the  poor  in  Boston  the  sume  of  thirty 

*  This  refers  to  Thomas  Savage,  who  married,  Sept.  15,  1652,  Mary,  a  daughter  of 
Rev.  Zechariah  Symmes,  and  had  by  her  eleven  children.  She  was  sister  of  Hezekiah 
Usher's  second  wife. 

t  She  was  Sarah,  the  eldest  daughter  of  Rev.  Zechariah  Symmes.  She  married,  in 
1650,  Rev.  Samuel  Hough,  who  died  March  30, 1662,  at  the  house  of  Hezekiah  Usher. 
She  then  married,  Nov.  13,  i66a,  Rev.  John  Brock. 

\  Timothy  Proute  married,  Dec.  13,  1662,  Deborah,  a  daughter  of  Rev.  Zechariah 
Symmes. 

§  This  refers  to  Edward  Wyllys,  who  married,  June  15,  1668,  Ruth,  a  daughter  of 
Rev.  Zechariah  Symmes. 


WILL  OF  HEZEKIAH  USHER,  SR.     147 

pounds  to  be  disposed  of  as  the  Selectmen  of  the  said  towne 
shall  see  meet.  Item  I  give  to  the  poor  of  the  third  church 
in  Boston  so  much  as  will  make  up  the  peece  of  Plate  afore- 
mentioned the  vallue  of  ffifty  pounds.  Item  I  give  unto 
Mr.  Thomas  Thatcher  Pastor  of  the  said  church  ten  pounds. 
Item  I  give  unto  Mr.  Peter  Thatcher  the  sume  of  five  pounds. 
Item  I  give  unto  the  Church  of  Cambridge  the  sume  of  Twenty 
pounds  and  to  the  poore  of  the  said  Church  the  sume  of  ten 
pounds.  Item  I  give  unto  my  brother  Thomas  Rolph  and  his 
wife  and  children  the  sume  of  ffifty  pounds  to  be  paid  in  goods. 
Item  I  give  unto  my  Brother  Robert  Rolph  of  Twitts  and  his 
wife  the  sume  of  ffifty  pounds  to  be  disposed  of  to  their  children 
as  they  need  or  as  ye  see  cause.  Item  I  give  unto  my  Brother 
Robert  Alfery  of  mayfield  the  sume  of  ffifty  pounds.  Item  I 
give  unto  Moses  Payne  senf  of  boston  the  sume  of  Twenty  five 
pounds  Item  I  give  unto  Maudit  Ings  five  pounds.  Item  I 
give  to  Rebecca  Myrick  my  maide  servant  the  sume  of  five 
pounds.  Item  I  give  my  negroe  woman  unto  my  said  deare 
wife  to  be  at  her  dispose.  Item  my  will  is  that  the  perticular 
Leyacyes  aforementioned  (that  are  under  the  sume  of  fifty 
pounds  and  no  time  Limited  for  the  payment  of  them)  shall 
be  paid  within  one  yeare  next  after  my  decease.  And  the 
remainder  of  the  Legacyes  by  me  herein  bequeathed  and  no 
time  Limited  for  payment  as  aforesaid  shall  be  paid  with  con- 
venient as  they  can.  Item  I  doe  hereby  nominate  constitute 
and  appoint  my  said  wife  Mary  Usher  and  my  sons  Hezekiah 
Usher  and  John  Usher  the  Joint  Execut?  of  this  my  last  will 
and  Testamt.  Item  I  doe  hereby  nominate  Constitute  and 
appoint  my  loving  freinds  and  Brethern  Capt.  William  Davis, 
Capt.  Thomas  Lake  Capt.  John  Hull  of  Boston  Merchants  and 
my  Brother  John  Harwood  of  London  Merchant  the  Overseers 
of  this  my  last  will  desiring  them  to  assist  and  advise  my 
Execute?  in  the  due  performance  of  this  my  last  will  and 
Testament  Item  I  give  unto  my  said  Overseers  the  sume  of 
Twenty  five  pounds  apeece  as  a  Testimony  of  my  love  Item 
my  will  is  that  if  my  sons  Hezekiah  Usher  and  John  Usher 
shall  contend  with  each  other  and  not  rest  satisfied  with  the 
Dividends  of  my  estate  that  I  have  hereby  laid  out  for  them,  it 
shall  be  in  the  power  of  my  Overseers  or  the  Major  part  of 


148     WILL  OF  HEZEKIAH  USHER,  SR. 

them  to  heare  and  determine  any  Question  or  difference  that 
shall  arise  betweene  them  relating  to  the  division  of  my  estate, 
and  he  that  abides  not  by  the  said  determination  of  my  said 
Overseers  shall  loose  One  hundred  pounds  out  of  the  portion 
hereby  set  out  to  him  which  sume  is  to  be  given  to  the  poore 
of  Boston  and  distributed  amongst  them  according  to  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  Selectmen  of  the  said  towne.  Item  my  will  is 
that  if  any  difference  or  Question  arise  about  or  relating  to  this 
my  last  will  or  the  estate  herein  mentioned  to  be  by  me 
disposed  the  same  shall  be  decided  and  fully  determined  by 
my  Overseers  or  the  Major  part  of  them  that  shall  be  resident 
in  New  England  to  heare  the  same.  Lastly  my  will  is  that 
the  remainder  of  my  Estate  be  improved  in  trade  in  the  way 
that  it  now  is  for  the  tearme  of  five  yeares  next  after  my  decease 
and  at  the  Expiration  of  the  said  tearme  (all  my  debts  Legacyes 
and  charges  being  paid  and  secured  to  be  paid)  I  doe  hereby 
give  one  moity  thereof  to  my  son  Hezekiah  Usher  and  the 
other  moity  thereof  to  my  said  deare  wife  and  to  my  son  John 
Usher  to  be  equally  divided  betweene  them  In  witnesse  whereof 
I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  seale  the  day  and  yeare  first 
abovewritten 

Hezekiah  Usher  senr :  &  his  seale 

Signed  Sealed  and  what  is  contained  in  these  foure  pages  was 
published  by  the  within  named  Hezekiah  Usher  as  his  last  will 
and  Testament  in  the  presence  of  us 

Samuell  Brakenbury 
John  Hayward  scr. 

Doctor  Samuell  Brakenbury  and  John  Hayward  the  witnesses 
to  this  Instrument  appearing  before  Major  John  Pynchon  and 
Major  Thomas  Clarke  Esq.  Assistants  this  ipth  of  May  1676 
made  Oath  that  they  being  present  subscribed  hereunto  their 
names  and  saw  and  heard  the  late  Mr.  Hezekiah  Usher  signe 
seale  and  publish  the  same  as  his  last  will  and  Testament  and 
that  when  he  so  did  he  was  of  a  sound  disposing  minde  to 
the  best  of  their  knowledge  and  deserning  this  thus  done  and 
deposed  as  Attests 

ffree  grace  Bendall  Recorder 

Recorded  and  Compared  n"  Augst  1676  by  me 

John  Davenport  Recorder. 


WILL  OF   HEZEKIAH   USHER,  JR. 
1689. 


[This  will  is  very  curious  and  interesting.  It  discloses  the 
unhappy  relations  that  existed  with  his  wife.  She  was  a  bril- 
liant and  fashionable  woman,  much  given  to  extravagance,  and 
evidently  married  Hezekiah  because  of  his  father's  wealth. 
He  accused  her  of  gross  extravagance  and  worldliness.  She 
retorted  that  he  was  not  sound  on  doctrinal  points,  which  was 
probably  true.  She  was  a  great  favorite  with  the  clergy  and 
with  all  society  people.  After  her  husband's  death  she  returned 
to  Boston,  and  was  a  conspicuous  figure  socially  from  1698  to 
1723,  when  she  died.  Her  name  appears  in  all  the  diaries  of 
the  period  as  being  present  everywhere.  There  is  hardly  a 
woman  of  her  day  in  Boston  to  whom  there  are  more  references 
than  to  her.] 

"  Know  All  Men  by  these  Presents,  That  I,  Hezekiah  Usher, 
sometime  of  Boston  in  New  England,  considering  the  mortality 
and  frailty  of  all  Mankind  in  this  world  (and  now  in  special  by 
reason  of  ye  Heathen  Enemy)  Do  see  cause  to  revoke  my  Will 
that  was  owned  before  Joshua  Moody  and  John  Russell  &c. 
the  7th  of  July  1687,  and  declare  this  to  be  my  last  Will  and 
Testament. 

First,  I  do  acknowledge  my  selfe  a  great  Sinner,  for  which 
God  in  his  righteous  Judgment  hath  in  many  ways  afflicted 
me,  (as  thinking  to  give  my  selfe  some  diversion,  I  have  fol- 
lowed some  pleasures  that  hath  not  been  so  helpful,  but  hath 
been  more  hurtful.)  And  do  find  and  believe  a  honest  calling 
to  be  brought  up  in,  &  diligent  in  it,  is  the  best  to  be  attended, 
and  to  prevent  many  Sins,  especially  Idleness,  which  together 
with  pride,  may  prove  ruinous  to  this  poor  Country,  and  though 
my  sins  are  many  (and  to  some  sins  I  have  given  entertainment, 
which  have  for  some  time  even  stopped  the  mouth  of  Prayer 


ISO     WILL  OF  HEZEKIAH  USHER,  JR. 

&  Kindred  Communion  with  God,  —  and  caused  him  to  with- 
draw ;  for  as  our  falling  into  sin  is  gradual,  and  so  our  depart- 
ing from  God  generally  is,  if  God  leave  us  We  shall  be  given 
up  to  Hypocricy  and  Impenitency,  unless  there  is  a  new  Con- 
version and  we  return  to  God  and  God  return  to  us,)  I  yet 
hope  through  the  Grace  of  God  bestowed  on  me,  there  is  a 
Repentance,  and  hope  of  Remission  through  the  Suffering  of 
my  Lord  &  Saviour  (as  I  hope)  and  Mediator,  Jesus  Christ, 
&  of  my  acceptance  into  God's  Favor,  and  hopes  of  his  mercy 
forever  extended  to  me.  By  writing  of  these  few  Lines  it's 
that  every  one  should  consider  seriously  within  himselfe.  Do 
not  I  live  in  some  known  sin  ?  pride,  pleasure,  Covetuousness, 
overreaching,  that  are  hardly  to  be  discerned  &  more  difficult 
to  be  rooted  out.  And  it  may  be,  this  may  be  as  an  Arrow  at 
adventure,  that  may  enter  into  the  joint  of  the  Harness,  or  else 
no  Likelyhood  of  any  good  to  be  done,  and  yet,  however  good 
words  in  Prayers,  yet  if  the  Soul  is  conscious  to  itselfe  that 
some  beloved  sin  of  pleasure  or  profit  is  too  much  indulged  in, 
the  Soule  may  prove  an  Achan  to  him  or  them  that  conceale 
it.  For  if  s  hypocricy  to  pray  to  God  to  repent  of  sin  and  have 
general  acknowledgements,  and  yet  to  retain  their  beloved  sin 
or  sins,  and  will  not  part  with  them  ;  and  therefore  this  to  be  a 
Warning  to  leave  off  our  sins  though  pleasant  or  profitable,  as 
at  the  end  it  will  be  more  bitter  than  sweet ;  whereas  the  labour 
for  good,  the  Labour  passes  &  the  Good  remains :  and  on  the 
other  hand  he  that  hath  much  pleasure  in  his  sin,  the  pleasure, 
that  is  gone,  but  the  guilt  and  evil  thereof  remains.  And  as 
David  saith :  "  Man  at  his  best  estate  is  vanity,"  and  Solomon, 
that  "  Vanity  of  vanitys,"  and,  "  all  is  vanity  and  vexation  of 
spirit." 

And  when  it  shall  please  God  to  bring  my  Change  on  me  as 
for  my  body,  I  desire  it  may  be  decently  buried,  and  not  much 
money  be  spent  on  my  Funeral,  for  I  have  seen  some  that  have 
been  so  expensive  at  their  Funerals,  that  the  living  have  suffered 
for  the  burying  of  the  deceased.  And  as  to  the  dispose  of  my 
outward  Estate.  In  the  first  place,  I  desire  that  all  my  due 
debts  should  be  paid  as  soon  as  possibly  may  be,  And  unto  my 
dear  wife,  whom  I  may  count  very  dear  by  her  Love  to  what 
I  had  but  not  a  real  Love  to  me,  which  should  accounted  it 


WILL  OF  HEZEKIAH  USHER,  JR.     151 

more  worth  than  any  other  outward  Enjoyment ;  and  for  her 
covetousness  &  overreaching  &  cunning  Impression  that  has 
almost  ruinated  me  by  a  gentle  behavior,  having  only  words 
but  as  sharp  swords  to  me,  whose  Cunning  is  like  those  to  be 
as  an  Angel  of  Light  to  others  but  wanting  Love  and  Charity 
for  me,  and  like  Sir  Edm°  to  oppress  the  people  and  is  hand 
not  to  be  seen  in  it  and  done  by  his  Council.  And  therefore 
I  do  cut  her  off  from  the  benefit  of  all  my  Estate,  &  do  not 
bestow  anything  upon  her  but  what  the  law  doth  allow. 
Because  I  look  upon  her  as  deceivable  in  going  over  for  Eng- 
land, getting  &  grasping  all  her  Estate  to  be  in  her  hand,  and 
of  mine  whatever  was  done  for  her  by  me  to  be  ungratefull ; 
and  her  staying  away  to  be  an  implicit  Divorce,  and  gives  it 
into  the  hands  of  women  to  usurp  the  power  out  of  the  hands 
of  their  Husband's  rather  than  in  a  way  of  humility  to  seek 
their  Husband's  good.  If  they  can  live  comfortably  abroad 
without  them  they  regard  not  the  troubles  or  Temptations  of 
their  Husband's  at  home,  &  so  become  seperate ;  which  is  far 
worse  than  the  Doctrine  of  Devils  which  forbid  to  marry.  But 
as  to  the  Daughter  Bridget  if  her  mother  had  not  been  so 
undermining  &  overreaching  for  her  I  should  have  been  will- 
ing to  have  done  what  I  could  for  her.  And  do  give  her  the 
Tumbler  with  the  Arms  of  a  spread  Eagle  with  two  heads, 
(but  I  think  one  head  for  a  body  is  enough)  and  the  Table 
cloth  of  the  best  Damask  &  the  napkins  thereto.  And  this  my 
Will  I  make  to  be  a  Warning  to  those  women  that  have  no 
Love  for  their  Husbands,  but  to  what  they  have ;  which  one 
had  better  had  a  Wife  that  had  not  been  worth  a  groat,  than 
to  have  one  that  hath  no  love  for  him.  And  do  desire  those 
many  papers  that  I  have  writ  as  to  the  Evil  of  having  a  Wife 
only  in  name,  &  to  seek  themselves  in  a  way  of  separation 
from  their  Husbands  &  the  duty  of  Wives  to  their  Husbands 
&c ;  —  that  they  &  all  my  Letters  sent  to  Madam  Bridget,  may 
be  perused  by  some  wise  understanding  pious  person,  that 
where  anything  hath  been  acted  by  myselfe  that  is  not  con- 
venient, something  may  be  added  for  a  supply ;  but  let  him  be 
one  that  is  for  men  to  Rule  in  their  owne  house ;  —  that  it  may 
be  a  matter  of  benefit  to  some  that  may  follow  after  me ;  for 
which  end  I  do  propose  that  he  or  they  might  have  £30  or 


iS2     WILL  OF  HEZEKIAH  USHER,  JR. 

£40  allowed  him  or  them  for  the  compiling  of  the  same.  As 
to  her  that  is  reputed  my  Wife  if  she  acknowledges  anything 
wherein  she  hath  done  amiss,  I  freely  forgive  her ;  I  do  not 
excuse  myselfe  altogether,  but  my  Love  to  her  &  admiring  of 
her  gentele  carriage  &c,  occasioned  her  &  her  complices  to 
usurp  that  power  over  me  whereby  I  have  been  cunningly 
overreached  and  abused  several  ways,  &  therefore  propose  this 
for  warning  to  others. 

Concerning  the  sum  of  £350  to  be  paid  to  her,  I  am  in 
Bonds ;  and  she  would  have  had  a  Letter  of  Attorney  from 
myselfe  and  against  my  selfe ;  her  separating  of  her  selfe  & 
Estate  I  count  as  the  disannulling  &  breaking  of  Marriage 
Covenant,  —  and  so  a  Divorce. 

Concerning  my  relations,  I  could  wish  there  had  been  a  real 
Love  between  us.  But  so  far  as  I  perceive,  their  own  Interest 
hath  been  sought  by  them  either  principally  or  remotely ;  and 
though  I  may  be  faulty  in  some  things  yet  to  be  so  disregarded 
as  I  have  been,  it  hath  been  a  trouble  to  me. 

My  Brother  Jonathan  Ting  who  has  been  the  most  obliging 
of  them,  I  do  desire  he  may  be  my  Executor,  and  have  the 
advise  of  my  uncle  Wyllys. 

Though  my  estate  is  encumbered  yet  if  it  please  the  Lord 
to  bless  New  England  &  cause  them  to  flourish,  I  believe  my 
Estate  will  be  something  considerable ;  &  whether  it  will  be 
attributed  to  Melancholy  or  distractedness  that  I  make  such  a 
will,  I  must  leave  it  —  but  could  wish  that  all  things  had  been 
better  managed  on  all  accounts. 

As  to  my  brother  Usher,  I  allow  him  the  ten  pounds  due  for 
warehouse,  and  the  twenty-five  pounds  difference  as  part  of  the 
one  quarter  of  the  Stock  that  belonged  to  go  to  the  Estate  of 
my  Honored  Father,  deceased,  I  bestow  upon  his  wife  and 
children. 

As  to  my  Brother  &  Sister  Shrimpton,  I  give  to  them  ten 
pounds  apeice  in  acknowledgement  of  former  kindnesses 
received. 

As  to  my  Brother  Ting  &  Sister  Ting  I  do  give  unto  them 
one  hundred  pounds  to  be  at  their  dispose. 

Concerning  the  minerals,  If  it  anything  considerable  should 
be,  my  will  is,  for  the  one  half  to  be  given  to  my  Brother  Ting 


WILL  OF  HEZEKIAH  USHER,  JR.     153 

&  the  children  begotten  of  my  Sister  Ting,  &  the  rest  for 
public  charges  ;  —  only  somewhat  to  be  paid  into  the  hands  of 
Mr.  Dyer,  for  the  relief  of  himself  &  of  some  others  that  laid 
out  more  than  is  convenient  in  Minerals,  as  myselfe  at  present 
do  think  I  have  done. 

To  my  Uncle  Wyllys*  to  give  him  twenty  pounds,  and  to 
my  Aunt  Wyllys  ten  pounds,  &  if  my  Estate  will  not  reach 
to  what  is  proposed,  then  to  proportion  it  accordingly.  And 
as  to  Robert  Usher,  if  he  should  marry  and  it  should  please 
God  to  afford  him  children,  that  then  the  Farm  at  Nonacowcos, 
or  part  of  it,  or  some  other  Farme  might  be  for  him  to  live  on, 
and  his  children  to  be  brought  up  with  Learning ;  but  especially 
that  of  one  of  his  sons,  if  he  should  have  any,  that  may  prove 
most  docible,  not  having  regard  to  elder  or  younger,  But  he 
that  is  most  ingenious  may  be  brought  up  to  Learning ;  &  so, 
what  is  left  after  my  cousin  Robert's  decease,  if  any  scholar, 
he  to  be  brought  up  to  enjoy  it.  And  for  the  Land  no  wayes 
to  be  disposed  in  Sale,  but  most  of  the  Revenue  etil  to  bring 
up  a  schollar  that,  if  it  please,  he  or  they  may  be  an  Instrument 
or  Instruments  to  do  much  good  in  the  time  of  their  being  here 
in  this  world.  Or  else,  to  be  disposed  on  some  poor  man's 
Son  that  is  very  desirous  to  be  a  Scholar;  but  let  him  be 
ingenious  &  bashful,  rather  than  to  be  too  confident  &  bold ; 
for  that  generally  is  not  wanting  to  those  that  have  large  parts 
or  think  they  have.  You  may  bestow  some  gold  rings  on  some 
Relations  if  you  please,  but  as  to  a  real  Cordial  Friend  they  are 
like  to  a  Phoenix,  rarely  to  be  met  with. 

But  if  some  should  meet  with  this  Will  they  would  count  it 
that  it  is  not  compos  mentis.  In  one  sense  I  will  owne  it ;  for 
I  know  not  what  to  do  for  I  have  so  many  Relations,  that  if  I 
should  go  to  them  for  relief,  (as  the  old  Proverb  is),  I  should 
be  well  fitted. 

But  to  my  dear  Relations  &  Friends  that  have  any  well 
wishes  for  what  I  have  rather  than  for  myself,  I  wish  wherein 
they  have  done  well,  they  may  have  the  good  and  the  comfort 
thereof;  &  wherein  they  have  done  amiss,  that  they  may  truly 

*  This  refers  to  Edward  Wyllys,  who  married,  June  15, 1668,  Ruth,  the  daughter  of 
Rev.  Zechariah  Symmes,  being  a.  sister  of  Elizabeth  Symmes,  who  married,  Nov.  a, 
1652,  Hezekiah  Usher,  Senior. 


154     WILL  OF  HEZEKIAH  USHER,  JR. 

repent  &  return  to  the  Lord,  that  he  may  bestow  his  Grace  & 
mercy  upon  them.  Some  may  take  delight  in  their  children 
when  they  go  to  Lectures  to  hear  Sermons,  though  I  believe 
to  many  that  much  good  it  hath  done  them ;  but  on  the  other 
hand,  have  a  care  that  thay  do  not  go  thither  more  for  pleasure 
than  profit,  which  edifies  not,  and  that  children  be  imployed  in 
some  Imployment  &  Calling  and  so  to  betake  themselves  to  it ; 
for  hearing  of  Sermons,  and  attending  Prayer,  Private  Meetings, 
or  being  brought  up  a  Schollar,  or  one  that  hath  a  general 
knowledge,  will  not  maintain  without  some  Imploy  or  calling ; 
and  it's  to  be  feared  that  some  that  are  ready  to  go  to  all 
Meetings,  yet  if  they  neglect  their  particular  Duty  &  Calling 
at  home,  it  may  not  issue  in  good  to  their  Family. 

But  all  things  ought  to  be  done  orderly  with  wisdom  and 
prudence  to  Edification  ;  not  to  have  men's  abilities  and  persons 
in  Admiration  so  as  to  neglect  those  that  duty  does  oblige  to 
honor.  And  it's  generally  reported  that  men  of  parts  have  not 
that  Love  to  the  Ministry  as  they  should,  but  to  make  use  of 
it  so  far  as  it  may  be  helpful  to  them.  And  others  that  are  in 
the  Ministry  do  adhere  to  particular  partys  &  do  seek  the  favor 
and  Company  of  those  that  are  most  beneficial  and  delightful, 
especially  the  affectionate  good  Madams,  thinking  the  best  not 
good  enough  for  them,  —  with  something  of  a  neglect  of  those 
that  formerly  have  been  obliging ;  &  others  that  should  be 
visited  for  Godliness  sake,  which  rarely  is  to  be  found,  together 
with  neglect  of  Studies,  &  not  with  that  gravity  &  meekness  as 
ought  to  be.  The  which  those  that  are  not  guilty,  it  hath  no 
reflection  on  them,  But  those  that  are,  let  them  reflect  within 
themselves.  I  wish  there  may  be  a  narrow  Search  &  what  is 
amiss  may  be  amended.  For  to  be  truly  religious,  free  from 
Covetousness  &  vain  glory,  &  to  be  pious,  meek,  &  humble,  it 
is  very  rare  to  find  any. 

To  my  Wife,  if  she  comes  over  to  New  England  before  she 
heareth  of  my  decease,  with  an  intention  in  Love  to  live  with 
me,  then  I  bestow  on  her  Three  hundred  pounds ;  the  which 
is  to  be  paid  out  of  plate,  Household  Stuff,  or  the  best  can  be 
made  out  of  my  estate.  To  Mrs.  Lake,  I  give  to  her  twenty 
pounds,  To  her  Daughter  Cotton  ten  pounds.  To  her  son  at 
Mr.  Shrimpton'  five  pounds.  To  old  Mrs.  Poole  five  pounds, 


WILL  OF  HEZEKIAH  USHER,  JR.     155 

whom  I  looke  to  be  a  friend  to  me  &  my  wife ;  for  the  rest 
generally  are  partial,  leaning  to  Madame's  side,  which  I  fear 
by  their  Counsel  &  affection  each  to  other,  have  caused  her  to 
err  from  the  Rule,  whatever  high  Conceits  they  may  have  for 
their  own  wisdom  &  knowledge. 

It  may  be  asked  why  I  make  such  a  Will  ?  The  Reason, 
Because  what  I  have  said  when  alive,  I  believe  it's  forgot ;  But 
what  now  I  write,  it  may  be  some  may  remember  it,  &  I  do 
wish  it  may  be  for  their  good. 

(To  Hezekiah  Browne  I  forgive  his  debt.)  I  hardly  finding 
any  footsteps  for  such  a  Will  as  this,  nor  neither  know  I  where 
to  meet  with  a  wise,  humble,  &  meek  man,  (the  which  I  could 
wish  there  were  many  of  them)  to  communicate  my  selfe  to, 
unless  it  be  one  or  two  whose  occasions  will  not  permit ;  and 
so  I  expect  by  some  they  will  find  fault,  and  condem  it,  &  me 
also.  But  I  shall  then  after  my  decease,  have  no  Eares  to 
heare  them,  or  to  be  troubled  at  what  they  may  say.  But  on 
the  other  hand,  it  may  be  an  occasion  to  some  that  may  follow, 
not  to  flatter  when  they  are  getting  out  of  the  world,  but  to 
leave  some  sayings  and  prescriptions  that  may  be  of  benefit  to 
future  ages  ;  then  I  shall  have  attained  the  end  of  the  writing 
of  this  Will,  which  in  most  things  I  could  wish  I  had  occasion 
that  it  should  'a '  been  otherwise. 

I  wish  to  Relations  Friends,  &  all  people,  that  they  might 
walk  more  circumspectly,  lovingly,  holily,  &  humbly  with  God, 
that  the  Lord  in  mercy  may  return  with  a  Blessing  to  their 
Soul,  Bodys,  &  Estates,  —  and  to  enjoy  Communion  with  God 
here,  &  to  be  made  Vessels  of  honour  fit  for  the  Lord's  use ; 
and  when  they  shall  have  ended  these  few  days  here  they  may 
be  partakers  with  eternal  communion  with  God  forever. 

Which  is,  as  I  hope,  the  humble  request  of  my  Lord  with 
God  for  my  selfe,  &  so  declaring  this  to  be  my  last  Will  until  I 
see  cause  to  change  it.  I  fear  many  that  pray  they  do  it  as  a 
Task  or  Custom,  &  when  that  is  done,  they  have  done ;  &  do 
not  mind  whether  they  have  a  return  or  not ;  but  some  when 
at  their  house  do  too  much  Feast,  something  is  necessary  to 
refresh. 

To  Goodman  Warner  I  forgive  what  money  is  due  from  him 
for  Rent,  &  to  Mr.  Wallis  I  give  five  pounds. 


156     WILL  OF  HEZEKIAH  USHER,  JR. 

At  Nonacowcos  Farme  y"  17  of  August  Anno  Dom.  1689. 

Hezekiah  Usher. 

Sealed  and  declared  to  be  my  Act  &  Deed  as  to  ye  contents 
within,  being  declared  to  be  my  Will  at  Nonacowcos,  in  y* 
presence  of 

Samuel  Worner. 

Samuel  Worner,  Jr. 

The  mark  of  Thomas  X  Williams 

The  mark  of  Timothy  X  Cooper. 


INDEX  OF  PERSONS  OF  THE  NAME  OF  USHER  IN 
THE   GENEALOGY. 


Aaron,  So,  95. 
Aaron-Cleveland,  91,  96. 
Aaron-F.,  126. 
Abbott-Lester,  133. 
Abbott-Payson,  133. 
Abby-E.,  126. 
Abby-Mandana,  99. 
Abigail,  86,  87,  go,  93, 101, 134. 
Abigail-Jane,  96. 
Abiiah,  93,  100,  in,  137. 
Addie-Gertrude,  120,  130. 
Albert-Morse,  133. 
Alena-F.,  126. 
Alice-Jeannette,  120. 
Allen,  84,  89, 95, 105. 
Allen-Thomas,  94, 104, 105, 125, 
Almira,  09. 
Almira-A.,  96. 
Alonzo,  113. 
Alta-Medora,  136. 
Alvin-Cook,  128. 
Alvin-L.,  197. 
A.-Maritta,  109. 
Amatus-Revilo,  99. 
Ambrosia-L.,  109. 
Amelia-A.,  134, 134. 
Amy-Boothby,  136. 
Ann,  88. 

Anna,  92, 105, 125. 
Anna-June,  107. 
Anna-Sophia,  108. 
Anne,  94. 
Ann-Frances,  94. 
Annie-Sophia,  135. 
Arthur-Howard,  120. 
Arthur-Lester,  130. 
Arthur-Patterson,  106. 
Atherton,  101,  113. 

Barnard,  101,  134. 
Barnard-M.,  137. 
Benjamin-B.,  95,  106. 
Benjamin-Jones-Randall,  no. 
Benjamin-M.,  113. 
Betsey-A.,  108. 

Caroline-Anna,  122. 
Caroline-M.,  98, 113. 
Caroline-Mudge,  133, 133. 
Catherine-Meroa,  99. 
Catherine-Rawson,  98. 
Charles-Cleveland,  98, 108. 
Charles-Edward,  107. 
Charles -Frederick,  130. 
Charles-Lee,  91. 
Charles-LeRoy,  137. 
Charles-Nelson,  115, 139. 
Charles-Roberts,  135, 137. 
Chauncy-A.,  108. 
Clarissa,  89. 


Clarissa-D.,  97.                            Frances,  82,  85,  89. 

Cordelia-R.,  109.                           Frank-B.,  135.     ' 

Cornelia-Ann,  98.                         Frederick-A.,  137,  136. 

Cynthia,  06.                                   Frederick-Merton.  i«.  iw. 

Cyron,  108. 

?rederick-Rosaloo.  108.  lie. 

Cyrus-F.,  137.                                Frederick-Wellington,  i3oTi30. 
Cyrus-K.,  i  n  .                              Freelove,  91  ,  97. 

Daniel,  86,  91,  93,  97,  103.            George,  1  13,  135. 

Deborah,  95.                                  George-Dunbar,  89,  98. 
Delia,  pi.                                       George-Finney,  94. 
Delia-A.,  97.                                  George-H.,  107. 

Deodate-Johnson,  93.                   George-Hulen,  1  15. 
Devereau-W.,  109,  136.                 George  -Leonard,  119. 
Dorcas-M.,  in.                             George-Washington,  113. 
Dorothy-Bliss,  136.                        Gersnom,  137. 

Dorothy-Moore,  137.                    Guert-G.,  109. 

Drusilla,  101. 

Duane-D.,  135,  137.                      Hannah,  80,  93,  95,  101. 

_   ,,       ,                                        Hannah-Lane,  in. 
E--Corydon,  109.                           Hannah-P.,  89. 
Edward,  84,  89,  94.                       Harkless-S.,  98. 
Edward-F.,  97.                               Harriet  02     ' 

Edward-M.,  107.                             Harris,  90,91  ,  96. 
Edward-Preston,  133,  130,  133.    Helen-Marfa.  Vol. 

Edwin-F.,  127.                                j 

T   j       \farr    TII    laR 

Edwin-McNamee,  123. 

T             .        '        'a 

Elbert-Ernest,  ,35.                       Hen^-E.';  no.'  '~ 
E  dena,  138.                                   Henry-W.,  136. 
E  eazar,  87,  93,  102,  103,  115.       Henry-  Weston,  103,  130. 
Ehsha-Lprd,  99.                            Herman.  136.         * 

ElizaSs  'loa.'  I07'                       Hezekiah,79,8o,83,84,8s,86,89, 

Elizabeth*,  79,'  80,  81,  82,  83,  86,  Hezfkial'.w'    105. 

87,92,  OS,  loi,  113,  123-           Horace,  99,  i<».  * 
E  hzabeth-Allen,  94.                     Horace!**?,  107. 
E  ^abeth-B.,  106,  113.                 Horace-Henry,  130. 
E  hzabeth-Gnswold,  104.            Howard-Stanton.  137. 

Ella-E.,  137. 

Ella-Gertrude,  120. 

Ella-T.,  135.                                 laa-ixroise,  130. 

Ellen    127 

rene,  123. 

EllenWcon,  137.                         Irene-Frances,  104. 
Ellis-Baker,  100,  109,  in,  136,    Isaac-Lane,  no,  136. 

127,  136. 

Emeline,  123.                              James,  85,  86,  89,  go,  91,  93,  93, 
Emeline-Dorothy,  98.                           94,  95,  100,  104,  105. 

Emily-C.,  in. 

ames-Chauncey,  99. 

Emma-A.,  135. 

ames-Franklin,  119,  139,  137. 

Esther-Ann,  113. 

ames-Henry,  107. 

Ethel-Jane,  129. 

ames-M.,  101,  103,  105,  116,  133, 

Ethel-W.,  136. 

125,  139,  137. 

Eugene-John,  107. 
Eugene-Percy,  139,  136. 

ames-S.,  07,  106. 
ane,  82,  So,  90,  91. 

anc-  Maria,  136. 

Fanny,  93,  101,  133. 
Fanny-Bucknam,  103,  114. 

ane-Maria-Bradley,  in. 
ane-Maria-Lane,  no. 

Fanny-Elizabeth,  130,  130. 

ennie-Evelyn,  120. 

Fanny-Maria,  108. 

erusha,  108. 

Flora-Adela,  108. 

erusha-Cadwell,  oS. 

'58 


INDEX. 


fohn,  70,  81,  8a,  83,  84,  86,  87, 

Mehitable,  79. 

88,89,91,93,95,97,101,102, 

Melissa,  108. 

IPS,  126,  138. 
ohn-D.,  124. 

Merville-D.,  135,  137. 
Mildred-A.,  138. 

bhn-Gardner,  103,  113,  115,  129. 

Miriam-M.,  112. 

bhn-H.,  138. 
bhn-Linton,  126. 

Moses,o6. 
Moses-Craft,  91. 

bhn-N.,  105. 

'ohn-Palmer,  96,  106. 
bhn-Sumner,  107. 

Nancy,  05. 
Nancy-Adams,  103,  115. 

onathan,  92,  98. 
bnathan-P.,  99. 
bseph,  95,  07,  107. 
bseph-Madison,  137. 

osiah-Cleveland,  92,  100. 

Napoleon-Bonaparte,  in. 
Nathaniel,  01,  go,  122. 
Nathaniel-Reifly,  123,  134. 
Nathaniel-W.,  105. 
Newell-F.,  99,  108. 

.-Philbrick,  136. 

Newell-R.,  135. 

ulia-Eliza,  98. 

ulia-Maria,  107. 

Olive,  87,91. 

Leila- Woodman,  126. 
Lena-C.,  126. 
Leonard-Bucknam,  103,  119, 

120,  130. 

Lescomb-R.,  108,  135. 
Linton-J.,  106,  126. 
Louisa-A.,  134. 
Lucy,  96. 
Lutner,  101,  113. 
Lydia,  oo. 
Lydia-Ann,  120. 
Lydia-Cutter,  103. 115. 
Lydia-Pearse,  95. 

Mandana,  96. 

Maria-M.,  99. 

Marshall,  124,  134. 

Martha-Hooper,  no. 

Martha-S.,  109. 

Mary,  86,  89,  93,  101,  102,  105, 

in,  128. 

Mary-Abby,  106. 
Mary-Ann,  103,  104,  114. 
Mary-Ann-K.,  in. 
Mary-Elizabeth,  105,  113. 
Mary-Ellen,  123. 
Mary-Florence,  119. 
Mary-Ruggles,  100,  in. 


Oliver,  92,  98. 
O.-Lueyne,  109. 
Ozro-Mott,  135. 
Ozro-P.,  108. 

Pamela,  119. 
Pamela-Ann,  115. 
Percy-Edwin,  137. 
Percy-G.,  137. 
Phoebe-H.,  126. 
Preston-M.,  127,  136. 

Rachel,  87,  97. 
Ralph-Johnson,  137. 
Ray-D.,  135. 
Rebecca,  79,  80. 
Rebecca-D.,  107. 
Rebecca-Randall,  no. 
Revilo-Cone,  92,  99. 
Richard-Harold,  138. 
R.-Melville,  109. 
Robert,  So,  83,  86,  87,  91,  92, 

93,99,  101,  112. 
Robert-Bela-Robbins,  99. 
Robert-Cleveland,  100. 
Robert-Oliver,  98,  107. 
Robert-R.,  99,  109. 
Robert-S.,  101,  123. 
Roland-Eustis,  137. 


Roland-Greene,  103, 119,  izo,  133. 
Rosanna,  97. 
Ruth,  03. 
Ruth-Ann,  100. 

Samuel,  84,  89,  101, 123. 

Samuel-Chambers,  100. 

Samuel-L.,  97. 

Sarah,  79,  82,  89,  90,  93, 101,  113. 

Sarah-A.,  107. 

Barah-Bucknam,  103,  113. 

Sarah-E.,  in. 

Sarah-Ellen-Randall,  no. 

Sarah-N.,  105. 

Scolly,  101,  113. 

Scolly-G.,  113. 

Selden,  98,  108. 

Serena,  102. 

Simeon,  93. 

Sophia,  105,  125. 

Sophran,  92,  99. 

Statira,  92. 

Stephen,  91,  96,  97,  107. 

Susan,  94,  95. 

Susan-Brooks,  102. 

Susan-J.,  97, 104, 125. 

Susanna,  90,  92,  127. 

Thomas,  84,  89,  94. 
Thomas-Francis,  105,  125. 
Thomas-Jeflerson,  94,  105. 
Timothy-A.,  107. 

Virgil-M.,  136. 

Warren-Hulen,  115, 129. 
Watros,  91. 
Wheaton,  97. 
Willard-F.,  138. 
William,  87,  90,  98, 09,  109. 
William-D.,  107,  126. 
William-H.,  95,   105,  126,  128, 

136,  137. 
William-Raymond,  138. 

Zechariah,  So,  93,  too. 


INDEX   OF   NAMES   OF   FAMILIES   OTHER  THAN   USHER 
OCCURRING  IN   THE  GENEALOGY. 


Abbot,  in. 
Adair,  123. 
Adams,  103,  128. 
Alford,  So. 
Allen,  82,  94. 
Anderson,  112,  135. 
Angell,  125. 
Arey,  129. 

Bacon,  no. 
Baker,  90. 
Barnes,  108. 
Bigelow,  99. 
Blackstone,  123. 
Blake,  105. 
Blanchard,  83,87. 
Blanding,  109. 
Bliss,  113, 136. 
Bonton,  128. 
Boothby,  113. 
Bosworth,  95. 
Boulter,  in. 
Bourne,  89,  104. 
Bradeen,  124. 
Bradley,  127. 
Brainerd,  93,  99,  109. 
Brodhead,  125. 
Brooks,  102. 
Brown,  90. 
Browne,  So,  Si. 
Bucknam,  102. 
Burroughs,  95. 
Butler.So. 

Campbell,  96. 
Carll,  in. 
Carroll,  102. 
Chadbourne,  na. 
Chaffee,  95. 
Chamberhn,  135. 
Charles,  136. 
Church,  96. 
Cleveland,  85,  86. 
Colbert,  107. 
Collier,  96. 
Colwell,  96. 
Comstock,  98. 
Cone,  92. 
Conner,  137. 
Cook,  85,  120. 
Coon,  90,  96. 
Copps,  113. 
Cox,  105. 
Crandall.  97. 
Crawford,  134. 

Dakin,  86. 
Davis,  i2A,  127,  136. 
Davol,  126. 
Dedrick,  96,  126. 


Deland,  108. 
DeWolf,  135. 
Dickman,  128. 
Diman,  95. 
Douglas,  137. 
Dow,  137. 

Eamens,  129. 
Easterbrooks,  125. 
Elkins,  107. 
Estes,  129. 
Eustis,  137. 

Fales,  125. 
Felton,  109. 
Finney,  94. 
Fitch,  97,  123. 
Foote,  98,  109. 
Francis,  86. 
Franklin,  138. 
French,  104. 
Frisbie,  100. 
Frost,  103. 
Fuller,  130,  135. 

Gage,  114. 
Gates,  92. 
Goddard,  98. 
Goodwin,  134. 
Gorham,  94. 
Grant,  94. 
Green,  103. 
Greenleaf,  85. 
Griffin,  114. 
Griswold,  104. 

Hadley,  116. 
Haley,  124,  127. 
Hall,  107. 
Hamlin,  101. 
Harlow,  133. 
Harris,  82,  101. 
Hartwell,  115. 
Hisrgins,  112. 
Hifl,  96. 
Hoar,  So. 
Hobson,  112. 
Holmes,  96. 
Holt,  128. 
Hubbard,  108. 
Huff,  123. 
Hulen,  114. 
Hutchins,  in. 

Ingalls,  124. 
Inman,  91. 
Ischam,  108. 

Jacobs,  119. 
J  aggers,  So. 


Jeffries,  83. 
Johnson,  129, 137. 
Jones,  124. 

Kidder,  100. 
Kinney,  126. 

Lane,  no,  in. 
Lansing,  89. 
Latham,  113. 
Lawton,  94. 
Leavitt,  100. 
Libby,  112. 
Lidgett,  82. 
Lindsay,  126. 
Lisle,  So. 
Lord,  99. 
Lovenng,  129. 
Luther,  91 . 

Macmannus,  128. 
Marsh,  107. 
Martin,  128. 
Mason,  126. 
Maxfield,  105. 
McCorison,  123. 
McDonald,  112. 
Merritt,  130. 
Moody,  127. 
Moore,  97. 
Morse,  116. 
Moulton,  123. 
Mudge,  114,  iai,  122. 
Mullett,  107. 
Murray,  123. 

Nash,  93. 
Nason,  in,  134. 
Nelson,  123. 
Noble,  113. 
Northup,  97. 
Nye,  109. 

Osgood,  no. 
Oxx,  95. 

Paine,  127. 

Palmer,  90,  91,  93,  96,  124. 

Park,  1 01. 

Parker,  101. 

Parsons,  85. 

Patterson,  106. 

Payson,  131. 

Peabody,  102. 

Pearse,  125. 

Peck,  106. 

Peckham,  117. 

Perkins,  108. 

Peters,  93. 

Philbrick,  115. 


i6o 


INDEX. 


Phillips,  91. 
Pierce,  112. 
Plummer,  115. 
Popkins,  87. 
Pratt,  103. 
Pray,  119. 

Qiiincy,  124. 

Randall,  no. 
Ransom,  oc. 
Rawson,  98. 
Reed,  98,  128. 
Ridlon,  in. 
Riges,  101. 
Roobins,  99. 
Roberts,  135. 
Robeshore,  89. 
Rockwood,  138. 
Rogers,  124. 
Rolls,  92. 
Rowell,  127. 
Rumery,  123. 
Ruton,  89. 


Sampson,  129. 
Sand,  no. 

Tinker,  109. 
Tufts,  103. 

Sanford,  89. 

Tyler,  90. 

Shaw,  96. 

Tyng,  82. 

Sherman,  99. 

Shrimpton,  Si. 
Sims,  112. 

Varney,  123. 

Smith,  95,  100,  108,  114,  115. 

Snow,  112. 

Wade,  113,  114. 

Sollendine,  83. 

Wakeman,  98. 

Southwick,  91. 

Waldron,  95,  105. 

Sprague,  104. 

Wardwell,  104. 

Stearns,  93. 

Watson,  136. 

Stewart,  86. 

Webb,  in. 

Stone,  130. 

Weld,  TOO. 

Strong,  98. 
Strout,  101,  123. 

Weston,  93. 
Wheelock,  107. 

Sumner,  100,  106. 

Whittemore,  85. 

Sweetser,  113. 

Whittier,  124. 

Symmes,  So. 

Wilson,  93. 

Woodman,  126. 

Talbot,  106. 

Woolverton,  122. 

Tanner,  105. 

wyeri  93- 

Thomas,  112. 

Wyman,  102. 

71 


THE  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Santa  Barbara 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW. 


Series  9482 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


A     001  078  054     2 


